TheModernMoron podcast

Welcome to another Modern Moron Celebrity Guest episode. That's right depending on your definition of the word celebrity, this guest could be so incredibly cool or mean absolutely nothing to you. Recognize this?...

That is the voice of Scott Chernoff who plays "Gearman" from the VERY popular animated show "Rick and Morty" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. And if I know my audience you may not only be saying what the hell is Rick and Morty, it's possible some of you might be saying what the hell is Adult Swim. As for the term Cartoon Network, I think that's fairly self explanatory.

Adult Swim is Cartoon Network's adult content that airs after 11PM and is not entirely animated content.

If you're in the MM demographic you know by now that a thing can be "a thing" long, LONG before we are aware it's a thing. And by "a thing" I mean popular and in the public conscious generally speaking. You know for kids.

For example Rick & Morty. Cinemablend.com A relatively well known entertainment news site, says this about Rick and Morty: "while Rick and Morty still has a ways to go before being considered on the same level as The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy, it's certainly fast approaching that territory, and may ultimately become the show Adult Swim is most remembered for."

If you watched the Superbowl you probably also enjoyed the commercials that cost $5.25M per thirty seconds. Hopefully you remember the pringles commercial:

So this show is a pretty big deal as are its creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. My guest Scott Chernoff first met Justin around 2002 through a creative outlet in Los Angeles called Channel 101. YouTube didn't start until 2005 so the people involved in Channel 101 couldn't gather virtually, they would gather at a restaurant and later at a place called cinespace on Hollywood Boulevard.

Scott tells a story about Justin Roiland's first submission to channel 101 and that it did NOT make it past its initial screening. It was cut. I point that out to show that most people's path to success is not a smooth path with no rejections or challenges even if you are considered a creative genius or even just extremely talented. Thomas Edison said "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

So I talk to Scott about his days with Channel 101 and then I jump to Scott telling me about his time as a writer for Conan O'Brien during the infamous and short lived Tonight Show starring Conan O'brien on NBC. But I don't have a smooth way to segue to that part of the conversation so … there's an intermission… what do you want this show is made by a moron.

Rick and Morty Fandom.com - Revolio Clockberg Jr. aka Gearhead

House of Cosby's Ep. 1 - Justin Roiland | YouTube

Channel 101

A lot packed into this moron…. I reconnect with the Senator's daughter who's a sophomore in college. We check the status on her tattoo situation and how that went over the holidays. Then I ask her about the Superbowl halftime show which she did not watch nor could she care less about. But I wanted her input from a feminist standpoint on the sex that was being sold as art.

I can't believe I'm saying this and I've never said it before, but I agree with Dee Snider. Who's Dee Snider? I'm surprised at you… no Dee Snider is not the congresswoman from South Dakota, he is the lead singer for Twisted Sister. Dee had his leather chaps all in a bind over the fact that the Superbowl doesn't use rock bands in their halftime shows anymore. By the way Dee Snider is 64 years old so he fits right in to our demographic. You go Dee Snider!

So the College Kid and I do not agree on the Superbowl issue, she thinks a woman should wear whatever she wants and that men sexualize women no matter what they wear. I'm afraid I agree with that part, but I think there are too many women setting the women's movement backwards by wearing stripper clothes and swinging on stripper poles while at the same time they want to be respected for more than being a sexual object. That doesn't line up for me and I think they're not helping their cause. Do I sound old and out of touch enough? Speak up I can't year ye!

My favorite part of the episode is when the College Kid tells me about her art history class and we talk specifically about the Venus of Urbino by Tiziano Vecelli or just Titian. And I just want to point out to you, what other podcast can you listen to that discusses Renaissance painter Titian and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister in the same episode. That's right… the Modern Moron that's who. One stop shop baby….

CLOSE:

Regarding the Superbowl halftime show…

There are other ways to express yourself artistically. Sex sells and to the ladies that take advantage of it, I suggest that it is possible you are compromising yourselves to achieve a quicker path to success or maintain success (whatever you may define that to be) and unfortunately you may still compromise yourself because most business are still run by men. White men. White privileged men. Like me. Except I don't run a business. I don't run anything. Except my mouth.

My college associate mentioned a performance by Halsey on SNL wearing a leather halter top. I watched the performance (link at the bottom). What she was wearing was a leather bustier. Making a choice to wear a leather bustier while slowly riding a mechanical bull and calling it artistic is flat out bullsh*t of the highest order. By the way that schtick belongs to Deborah Winger in Urban Cowboy from 1980… yeah, that was 40 years ago.

So unfortunately you have to be on the ready ladies, your talent has to outshine your sexuality a bit more than the female next to you that is more willing to compromise herself than you are. It's a sad reality for today but it is changing and will hopefully continue to change. Makes me think again of a quote I heard from MIT professor and economist Rudiger Dornbusch, great name right. He said "In economics, things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could."

Links:

Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It - YouTube

Halsey: You Should Be Sad (Live) - SNL - YouTube

Emma Watson' full speech at UN on Sept 20,2016 - YouTube

Welcome to an unscheduled episode of the Modern Moron… I thought that instead of delivering a regular episode days late I would put one out ahead of time. What a concept.

I never ever ever thought in a million years I would be talking so much about politics. It's crazy. I never gave a rat's ass about politics but now i find myself researching and talking about it a lot not so much because I have a political opinion or a party affiliation but from an anthropological perspective and the behavioral science between the way us rats are reacting to each other in this cage. It's crazy and pretty interesting if you can stay detached long enough to observe it.

Boy, a lot of stuff has gone down this week. The two most prominent events are the State of The Union Address by the President heading in to the presidential election and the Senate's Impeachment vote.

Okay State of the union on Tuesday… according to The Hill, skews to the right but not as much as say Fox News stated that viewership for the address dropped by 20% except for Fox News. That shouldn't be a surprise.

If you didn't watch because you can't stand Trump, you did yourself a service as he basically used this forum as a formal kick-off for his 2020 reelection campaign. Republicans were whooping and hollering in support and approval in standing ovation after ovation making me think that is odd behavior for a political party that very, very reluctantly took him as their candidate. But there they were yelling approval for him as he touted victory after victory in different areas form our economy to preferential financial assistance to black universities and colleges to keeping Social Security safe and protecting us from Socialism especially socialist health care. Did I mention that several times he looked exactly like Benito Mussolini with their downturned mouth? Seriously, you should look at some side by side photos.

There was some entertainment in watching Nancy Pelosi sit behind Trump and try to sit still. She couldn't. She was just beside herself looking at papers in front of her that turned out to be Trump's printed speech. I'm sure you know by now that after the speech she stood up and tore the speech in half. Between that and Trump not shaking her hand before the speech, there are two of your top elected officials not getting along. And it's easy for Republicans to call the democrats petty because after all… they're kinda winning right now whether you like it or not.

So in the President's State of the union address, he stated that things are about as good as they've ever been and has some statistics to go along with it. That may have you seething with disdain over whether or not it's true. Or who it might be true for.

And then in his traditional "I can do whatever the f**k I want" style, he stopped the whole show to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Conservative Radio talk show host and shock jock Rush Limbaugh.

Here is some of the wonderful provocative stuff that Rush has said over the years to earn him the Medal of Freedom courtesy of a CNN Report, the link is included:

And there is your latest recipient of the Presidential medal of freedom. Congratulations Rush and good health to you sir.

The republican party has let Donald Trump off the hook except for Mitt Romney. Totally partisan all the way except for Mitt Romney. We need more Mitt Romney's… politicians who will police their own party as much if not more than they point their fingers across the isle. You may not like Mitt Romney because of his party affiliation but he's gained a lot of respect by simply holding his own party accountable. I'm going to play a snippet for you from one of the greatest professors of our time for one of the world's finest institutions. The institution is Hogwarts and the professor is Albus Dumbledore. Yes I'm a moron for bringing Harry Potter into politics but I have to watch this movie damn near every night or my daughter won't go to sleep.

But at the end of the move if you remember, Dumbledore gives a speech where he awards a few extra points that eventually change the house cup from going to Slytherin… (Trump) and instead goes to Gryffindor. He awards Harry's extra points along with Hermoine and Ron's points which brings it to a tie between Slytherin and Gryfindor and then he makes one final award:

C'mon.. Ya gotta admit that's a tear jerker moment for old Neville Longbottom. The pudgy, nerdy kid who's so unassuming. That one always gets me. The actor who played Neville turned out to be tall slender and like model handsome in case you didn't know by the way.

I play you a clip from attorney Joseph Moreno. He is a former Justice Department national Security prosecutor who is now in the private sector and chimed in on this CBS news piece on the end of the impeachment trial….

I have a link to the entire CBS News Impeachment trial summary and it's worth taking a look at.

So you're pissed at Trump or you might be enraged at Nancy Pelosi or Adam Schiff for the fiasco of impeaching a president when they had to know full well that it would not go through congress and that ultimately they were wasting their time and therefore our tax dollars. Because this isn't over there are more investigations to clog up our courts and our political system.

Lindsey Graham in the Senate still wants to go after the Bidens, not that he doesn't deserve it. The House committee chairman is still going to investigate other alleged wrongdoings by the President, not that he doesn't deserve it.

They're all acting like police investigators but who's policing the police? And as my father would say, how is any of this contributing one cent to the Gross National Product of this country. The answer is zero. The only ones who win in litigations are the litigators, which is why there are so many jokes about slimy sleazy attorneys. Attorneys out there?.... You know I'm right don't you? If you want to hear a scathing joke about attorneys.. Ask an attorney to tell you one. They know 'em all.

Executive privilege of the president comes into question not only for this president who by the way is a GREAT guinea pig to test the boundaries of his own privilege. I can do whatever I want. Whether it's to use tax dollars to conduct an investigation against one of my opponents or to give the medal of freedom to a right wing shock jock radio host right in the middle of a state of the union address.

Be assured that although the Trump impeachment trial has ended, investigations will go on and on and on. And apparently they're happening on our dime. Think of how much of our elected officials time has been spent on this. Not on passing bills but instead investigating each other. It makes me think we need to have a separate branch of government just so those idiots can investigate each other. It probably already exists. I guess it needs to be done. All of them seem to be dishonest to some degree and they all seem to be catoring not to the voters at large but to their biggest campaign donors. They tell you in their speeches that they're representing individuals but they're just really good actors who are acting on behalf of the organizations that give them the most money and craft their message to disguise that fact and make you think their acting on YOUR behalf. Yuk.

So now I would like to focus on a couple of different words. Not politics or impeachment but equanimity and homeostasis… I feel so f***ing self righteous right now…

So check out this definition of Homeostasis: Homeostasis is any self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions that are optimal for survival. If homeostasis is successful, life continues; if unsuccessful, disaster or death ensues. The stability attained is actually a dynamic equilibrium, in which continuous change occurs yet relatively uniform conditions prevail.

Either way, I think we can agree… can we? That the nation generally is divided and our current president evokes a lot of emotions, he taps into the emotions of us for better or for worse.

So how do you, how do we, detach from all of that discord without burying our heads in the sand. A LOT of people have stopped watching the news altogether. That can work to an extent but that is a version of denial and it's not completely realistic

Playing the blame game creates a hostile outlook. Grievance, blame, or life is unfair stories lead to a downward spiraling treadmill of discontent with all things.

Don't' do it because if you do you think "Trump wins". Don't do it begrudgingly… do it for your own wellbeing. If you happen to be a religious person, do it because the icon or icons of your religion would want you to forgive with a loving heart. Yes, I just said forgive with a loving heart okay. Lemme add a sound effect so I'm more grounded in reality. But you know what I mean.

Forgiveness is a change in story. It changes you from the role of a victim to a role of simply being free. It changes your story. Not Donald Trump's story, not Adam Schiff's story or a political party's story. Your story. Make your story more peaceful and pleasant. I know I need a shitload of this type of stuff just to keep the crazy bastards trying to run the show in my head calmed the fuck down.

We are of the age where our generation of boomers remember the driver's education films like red asphalt and other road splatter films that were intended to scare us straight and be careful on the highways. Why the hell do I bring this up? Here's why and I can't find the goddamn source for this so you'll just have to trust me.

An experiment was conducted with subjects who were shown disturbing images such as those found in the film Red Asphalt. Then another group were shown the same images after a period of guided meditations and loving kindness meditations. Not surprisingly the second group was able to view the disturbing images with a more detachment and calm than the group that did not.

SOOOO… imagine the thing you have a visceral reaction to… Trump, Pelosi, Washington DC and politicians in general… as the red asphalt. The disturbing images that make your heart race and give you rage or anxiety. The mediation and forgiveness is a tool that can help you free yourself from those toxic emotions. And it doesn't have to be as grandiose as politics. It could be the way others conduct themselves on the freeway or take 12 items into the 10 item or less isle or the entitled attitude of your kids when they expect a nightly dinner menu rather than graciously thanking you for whatever you prepared. (machine guns)

Those stories exist everywhere for all of us. And it's behooves you to find some tools to let that shit go. Do it for you, not because you think someone else will win. You are losing, I am losing by carrying that shit around. And I carry a LOT of that shit around.

Here are a couple of people who have messages I think could be of value to you:

Ram Dass, formerly Richard Alpert, who passed away only a month or two ago.

Dr. Fred Luskin - He's a professor at Stanford University who teaches a program in …

"Forgiveness is an assertive creation of peace in the present." So from this reference, forgiveness is something you do for yourself as opposed to doing it for someone else by saying I forgive you.

Radio personality Rush Limbaugh's controversial history - YouTube | CNN

Senator Doug Jones says he'll vote to convict Trump on both charges - CBS News

What Is Forgiveness? | Fred Luskin, PhD - YouTube

Learningtoforgive.com

Month's old Headlines at less than half the price, you can't beat that.

However, I do want to mention in the intro something you must already know about, that is more current and that's the Iowa Caucus. Or should we call it the Iowa kaka? Iowa cacophony of chaos? You know it's bad when a news source that sides with you calls it a failure. CNN calls it a meltdown. CNBC News calls it a debacle. The New York Times Calls it a holy mess. So naturally, every candidate is claiming victory to add to the confusion.

Also, the Republican Senator from Maine, Susan Collins said she will vote to acquit Trump although stating what he did was "improper and demonstrated very poor judgment,". She also said that he has "learned from this case" and that he will be "much more cautious in the future."

We both know that is utter horse sh*t. He's never admitted any wrongdoing and has always said the call was perfect.

I finish up my conversation with my poli-sci screenwriter… we wrapped last episode talking about President Trump's Rally speeches and how they resemble World Wrestling Entertainment with all the name calling and how Trump's supporters LOVE it when he calls his opponents names and belittles them and it's turned into a form of entertainment. Political Entertainment. It's an interesting point he makes and it's how Trump taps into the emotional side of his base.

We also talk about the month old revelation of the Huston Astros' cheating by garbage can beating. Not just its effect on baseball as a whole, but on the millions of dollars it probably cost two particular pitchers who were victims of their cheating in the postseason.

And we wrap up with a little talk about documentaries. Hard hitting, cutting edge, months old news. Political Entertainment, garbage can beating cheating and documentaries on the Modern Moron.

CLOSE: Maybe that's what this podcast will become… a timed commentary to Netflix documentaries.

So as of the this recording, our dear leader has given his state of the union address where half the room stands up and applauds for everything while the other half of the room sits in silence.

Part of me felt bad for Nancy Pelosi having to sit behind Trump for the whole speech and pretend to shuffle papers as if she was reading something. She did look so frustrated that it looked a little crazed. I know I'd be crazy if I had to do that.

I was very impressed when President Trump used the word reciprocity… I thought wow, that's a big word for him and then… he tried it again and f***d it up. Should have left it alone Donny.

And Rush Limbaugh getting the Medal of Freedom? For a radio host? I guess Howard Stern and Joe Rogan are next?

I missed the democratic response, but I got a text from the Senator saying, "she was smokin' hot and he would totally do her." Isn't that great political commentary? He should seriously be on Fox News… he would be perfect don't you think?

Astros using cameras to steal signs, a breakdown - YouTube | Jomboy Media

I've got to come up with a way to put out 20 minutes without being so precious about it. One of my many problems is that when we end up talking about our dear leader I want to find what I consider funny sound bites from him. Well that is an endless endeavor. He is saying something so unpresidential every day! I'm constantly going down rabbit holes trying to rake together all the crazy s**t he says. What am I gonna do?

Our guest is my screenwriting political scientist who is also a self proclaimed space geek. Since this episode is so late the normally weeks old news is months old and I feel like I've said that before. We talk about the Space Farce… I'm sorry space FORCE, and the irony that the only way we could get a soldier in space is through Russia. We talk for a second about the old space program and how it gave us much of the technology we have taken for granted over the last 50 or 60 years.

And we end up talking about late night television and professional wrestling's favorite president as he hits the campaign trail. If you've watched any of those rallies, they are frighteningly similar to a wrestlemania smackdown with a lot of name calling that his supporters absolutely love.

We're talking Space Farce, Space Sticks and a WWE Smackdown Presidential Campaign on the 50th episode of the Modern Moron…

Star Wars on a Banjo - YouTube

As Asian carp inch closer to the Great Lakes, experts tackle possible solutions - The Daily Northwestern

Game of Thrones? I say Game of Jones… it's old news that People need a replacement for that monumental show. Granted there is a prequel, called "House of Dragons" which takes place thousands of years before Game of Thrones took place which means what exactly? Their swords don't get wifi? House of Dragons is due out in 2022! Are you kidding me? What are we supposed to do until then, read a book? Fans of the show need something now. What will be its replacement? I'm sure there are more, but a couple of shows that are vying for the throne are The Mandelorian on Disney Plus… I don't' have disney plus… yet, and "The Witcher" on Netflix. I did try to watch the first episode of The Wticher just to see what's up. More importantly I ask my OP to take a look at the first episode to see what she thinks as a die hard Game of Thrones fan. We discuss The Witcher, it's British star Henry Cavill who also played the latest Superman and is pretty easy on the eyes according to my OP. We talk up the Latest Star Wars film which is now months old and that we are both big fans of Adam Driver who was fantastic last year in Spike Lee's "Black Klansman" and this year he is up for an Oscar in his performance in Marriage Story on Netflix, which I cannot bring myself to watch because it's seems to heartbreaking.

Oh yeah, the rendition of the Game of Thrones Theme you're hearing in the background is from the folks at Fender Guitars. They pooled together Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Scott Ian from Anthrax, Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme, the composer of the shows theme Ramin Djawadi, the show's creator, Dan Weill and even country star Brad Paisley...and if you think Brad Paisley can't rock out on a Fender Telecaster, this will prove you wrong. A link to the video is at the bottom.

We're searching to fill your Jones for Game of Thrones on this episode of the Modern Moron. Plus a tiny bit of Zombie Talk.

How Sound Effects For Horror Movies Are Made | Movies Insider - YouTube

The Game Of Thrones Theme Song | Custom Shop | Fender - YouTube

AMERICA F*#K YEAH! MUSIC VIDEO - Team America World Police THEME SONG - YouTube

A bit of a lengthy moron today but worth it. We start off with my OP… old radio partner… or should that be my OG? Anyway my guest drops the news on me of the passing of Neil Peart last week, drumming virtuoso and lyricist of the band Rush. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 4 of rock's greatest drummers behind only John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, The Who's Keith Moon and Ginger Baker who died just this past October and played with the supergroup Cream and Blind Faith. So we reminisce about Neil Peart for a bit and I mispronounce his name as Neil Peart, so nice going.

We then hit upon the fiasco of the Jeffrey Epstein case and the lost recordings of his suicide, I do a quick recap of my jury duty which leads to a chat about the jury selection for the Harvey Weinstein rape trial in New York. So, we're really covering some wonderful individuals here in the second half of the show.

We'll call this episode "Genius Drums and Vile Bums" on this episode of the Modern Moron.

Regarding the Uma Thurman discussion on Harvey Weinstein there's this from a New York Times Article from February 2018:

"The complicated feeling I have about Harvey is how bad I feel about all the women that were attacked after I was..."

"...I am one of the reasons that a young girl would walk into his room alone, the way I did. Quentin used Harvey as the executive producer of 'Kill Bill', a movie that symbolizes female empowerment. And all these lambs walked into slaughter because they were convinced nobody rises to such a position who would do something illegal to you, but they do."

Thurman stresses that Creative Artists Agency, her former agency, was connected to Weinstein's predatory behavior. It has since issued a public apology. "I stand as both a person who was subjected to it and a person who was then also part of the cloud cover, so that's a super weird split to have," she says.

I also just read that model Gigi Hadid, I've never heard of her either, was called in for jury duty on the Weinstein case despite the fact that she has met Weinstein and Salma Hayek who could be a witness but said she could remain impartial. Unlike over 40 other potential jurors as the Associated Press reported that one-third of the first 120 prospective jurors summoned for the case were promptly sent home after the judge asked if there was anyone who could not be impartial and about 40 hands went up.

There is also another lawsuit filed in Los Angeles against Harvey the Larvae and I think it's safe to say that while the trial will take a long time, Mr. Weinstein will probably still need his walker but in prison, and it won't be for back surgery.

Next episode we'll continue my conversation with my OP and we'll discuss The Witcher on Netflix and how it stacks up for you Game Of Thrones junkies. Thanks again for listening to the Modern Moron, we'll see you soon! Links to resources below.

Neil Peart Drum Solo Letterman, June 9, 2011 - YouTube

Top Ten Rush Songs - YouTube

Beware of Mr. Baker - Full Movie | Snagfilms

Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy: A closer look - 60 Minutes | CBS

Welcome to the first Modern Moron of the New Year… let's call it a Mediocre Modern Moron… because there's only one direction to go after this episode and that is upward.

By the time you get this the impeachment trial in the Senate may be over and I think we both know the outcome there and… We might be at war with Iran!

So I briefly go over that and then I have two issues I would like to see you take car of this coming year. I have a proposal for gun violence in this country and I also have an issue with higher education in this country in terms of getting an education versus getting a diploma. You obviously need the first and if you have it you shouldn't need the second.

I have Netflix recommendations which turns out to be ONE recommendation.

Finally I wrap up by sharing with you my experience in the justice system as I report for jury duty and actually get assigned to a criminal case. One of the crimes would have been me serving on the jury.

Happy New Year from The Modern Moron and thank you for listening.

Welcome to the final episode of the Modern Moron… for 2019! We finish the year by finishing our conversation with the Senator, recorded just before Christmas.

The Senator thinks there should be a Statute of limitations for tweets and public statements which a public figure can be held accountable for? Sound like bullshit? Me too.

We discuss the origin of the word Chick as slang for a woman.

He tries to tell me again that I am high maintenance, yet he doesn't want to be held accountable for his text to me that I am "worse than any chick on the planet."

I bring up the interview I did with The Senator's daughter and her recent tattoos and the talk he is going to have with her when she comes home from college. Somehow this leads to a discussion about the environment.

Our lack of knowledge on the subject fulfills our once-per-episode obligation to justify the name of the show. We have no clue about anything remotely specific about environmentally hazardous materials that are being produced by different countries and we prove it.

Unfortunately this turns into a conversation about Time Magazine's Person of the Year Greta Thunburg. In fact, I go into full okay-boomer moron-mode in a rant about Greta. (drop) I've listened to it way more than you ever will debating on whether I should leave it in the episode or not because I am not kind towards Greta. She's just a kid and I'll bet she never expected to get this much attention and now she's literally the poster child for environmental action. Her latest poster is the cover of Time Magazine. I feel like some people are going to be so disturbed and disgusted with my rant that they won't listen ever again. So should I have taken it out? Interesting question. If I start second guessing about the content of this tiny podcast and try to please who I think might be a target audience or leave out content because I don't want to alienate anyone, this show will become complete milk toast and it wont' have ANY value, not even to myself. It kind of goes back to that old saying, "you can please some people all the time, and all of the people some of the time… but you can't please all the people all the time. I can't please everyone and I shouldn't try. But I shouldn't be shocking just for the shock value either and what's shocking or crude to some is ... entertainment to someone else. See the inner turmoil I am constantly living with? It's so hard to be me.

And then… THEN… I see a photo of Greta with her family; her little sister, her mother and father… her father. And I think, "if some jackass like me went off on my daughter like that, I'd want to beat his ass.

So, for the most part It is an unpopular position to say that I am not really a fan of Greta even though I agree with much of her point of view. I would have much preferred to have Andrew Cooper and Alex Schulze as Time Magazine's Person of the Year. They founded the company 4 Ocean which is cleaning up our oceans and rivers. Andrew and Alex were college grads who took a post graduate vacation to Bali to do some surfing and found beaches with more garbage than sand. Think I'm kidding? Look at the photo's. So they started the 4 Ocean Project and are now making an impact.

Or how about Boyan Slat? I've mentioned him on this program before. He is a 25 year-old Dutch inventor and entrepreneur who creates technological solutions to global problems. He is the founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup; a Dutch foundation which develops advanced systems to rid the world's oceans of plastic.

As The Ocean Cleanup's CEO, he currently leads a team of about 80 people, but spends most of his time on research and engineering, through which he co-authored about a dozen scientific papers and multiple patents. Interesting… why patent something that is going to help clean up the world?

On September 8th of 2018, the world's first ocean cleanup system was launched from San Francisco, soon after followed by deployment inside the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

I think my issue isn't with Greta Thunderbird. I think my issue is with Time Magazine. I don't think Time Magazine's goal is to truly find someone who has made the greatest impact on our society or more accurately on our planet. I think Time magazine's goal is to sell magazines. They took someone who had received a lot of clicks, likes and views and funneled them to time magazine. If Time is truly interested in journalism, why didn't they make us more aware of the causes of Boyan Slat or the founders of the 4 Ocean Project? Or any of the thousands of scientists and philanthropists who are making change through action. I'll bet Time Magazine has a well phrased response that justifies their choice and it will be unwritten that it includes selling more magazines.

Speaking of hypocrites… because after all aren't I just complaining about a complainer?... we join my conversation with the Senator as we discuss how there should be a law or statute of limitations on the responsibility a person must be accountable regarding their tweets and other public statements. Isn't that THE perfect topic for this show?

Boyan Slat: https://www.boyanslat.com/

Boyan Slat's Project: https://theoceancleanup.com/

The 4 Ocean Project: https://4ocean.com/cleanups/

These 20-something surfers started a company that's pulled 1 million pounds of garbage out of the ocean

Stress during the holidays. We all are subject to it and I hope you're experiencing a minimum of stress this year. Personally I don't need the holidays to feel stressed. All I need is a day that ends with the letter Y. Today's guest is the Senator and you're not going to believe this but he flaked on me. Kept me waiting for a couple of hours so he could fulfill his obligation… to get his haircut. I'm not sure how that is an obligation but in his fantasy world it apparently is. We will quarrel over that like an old married couple and I will turn his microphone off not once but twice. He also broke his wrist. We'll find out about that, and we'll find out how I get too angry and need to chill out, but first we drop in on the senator as he is unable to get his microphone to work and he is the one who's having some patience issues. It's a holiday cheer Modern Moron and thank you for listening.

I'd like you to note that when he was lecturing me about staying calm and letting me know that he had "obligations" the obligation turned out to be an impromptu haircut. He is so unbelievably full of shit… maybe that's what he'll get in his stocking. It won't be his own shit because he's constipated but I would be happy to fill it for him.

Next week will feature a continuation of this misogynistic conversation as I call out Greta Thunberg as Time Magazine Whiner of the Year. I know its not popular but being an "activist" means doing something other than complaining. Ask Obama...

But this is a time of good cheer… and now that I've ruined it, I'd still like to wish you a Happy and Safe Holidays and we'll leave you with a quick note from someone special…..