Episode 25

[Hammy Pink]

A new episode arrives on the wind like an avian herald of dawn!  Random notes:

* "G.L.G." -- loved it.  That "M.I.L.F." is the term of choice these days instead speaks of the diminishment of our culture.  I can't believe you said "cockblock" to this civilized gentleman, B.!
* Mr. A wrong on Caroline Kennedy!  Nooooooo!
* Mr. A's point on how Obama won his Senate seat wasn't clear, as he seemed to start out saying that the Democrats were stupid for allowing Obama to be elected (was the stupid part Ryan suggesting they go to a sex club in the first place, or for allowing Ryan to resign when it was revealed), but then he switched over to the GOP being stupid for running Alan Keyes against Obama.  This didn't seem to go with the thesis he started out with of the Democrats being the Stupid Party and the GOP being the Evil Party.
* Loved Mr. A drawing the analogy between you not wanting to do the show during the election and media censorship.  I guess I'm a hypocrite, however, because I totally understand and relate to your reasons, Blieden, while resenting the mainstream media's.  I guess in the end, it's a question of scale.  You're not controlling one of the few remaining mainstream media outlets.
* Mr. A's point about very rich people never having to use their own money was right on the money (so to speak).
* No spanking references this episode?  Next time...
* The WWI description reminded me that I recently learned of an aspect of trench warfare I never knew about:  in addition to artillery, both sides had vast numbers of men digging in horrible conditions underneath the ground below the "no man's land" between the trenches in order to plant bombs to blow up the other side from below.  And both sides had men under the ground with listening equipment to attempt to detect the other side's digging to plant bombs under them.
* As you noted, Mr. A's claim that an eavesdropper can listen to what you are typing doesn't make sense to me either, as all of the keys make the same sound!  If each keyboard key emitted a different-pitched beep like a touch telephone, I could see this being possible...  Maybe the listening equipment can detect the scraping of my fingers over the keys and the creaking of my elbows and finger joints and use this aural positional data to calculate the position of my fingers when each keystroke is made!  Sounds very Rube Goldberg, tho .

Thank you much for this, and hope fate holds more episodes soon.  May Machiavelli's ghost smile on you both.

[Hammy Pink]

Oh, just remembered the part where Mr. A started slamming Saturday Night Live.  That was awesomely tense, 'cause I don't think he was thinking about the fact that you may well know some of those people professionally and may want to work in the future with some of them, both of which meaning that even if you agreed with him ya probably wouldn't want to go on the record ripping them apart!

[scottlo]

What a treat to get to listen to Messers A and Blieden once again. Seems the world has changed in dramatic proportions still difficult to process since episode 24. I would have hoped for analysis and discussion of some of the crap that has come down the pipe this past year - financial bailout, auto bailout, blagojevich, georgia vs russia, or israael vs gaza for instance. I also understand such topics would not have been suitable in a "Welcome Back" episode.

But I imagine it's not an easy task to get back into production after such a long hiatus. Considering the nearly 11 month layoff, I'd say this 25th episode is no less than a precious offering. And frankly, I'd be delighted to hear Mr. A converse on most any topic. I'm sure over time Mr. A will lead us through shoulder-deep swamps of current crap. I can't wait.

For me, the sterling moment was hearing Blieden question Mr. A on that flannel-mouthed Alan Keyes. I couldn't quite make out the word as Mr. A repeated it 3 or 4 times as I was riding on a noisy subway. Turns out it was a common expression a generation or two ago (according to the Online Random House, it refers to "a glib, insincere, boastful, or ingratiating talker"). Seems Mr. A was spot on with this descriptor for Keyes.

As for the Party of Evil and the Party of Dumbness line of analysis, I didn't sense the switch of thesis mentioned by Hammy Pink. Seemed to me that Mr. A pegged the Dems as Evil and the Repubs as Dumb from the beginning. I thought he said that the Dems were behind the press going after the Ryans' sealed affidavits. But again, I was listening in noisy conditions and might have missed something.

Bottom line, thanks for this 25th episode (which happened to arrive on my birthday). I remain a devoted and loyal listener.

[Hammy Pink]

Interesting thesis, King of Podcasting...  I automatically assumed he meant the GOP was evil and the Dems stupid.

[Dragon Management]

HARK the herald angels sing!
Glory to, Mr. A the KING!

Nice to have both of you back.

I missed you both like a twelve-year old fat kid misses Ho-Hos at Fat Camp.
I missed you both like a comic book nerd misses a woman's sweet embr....WAIT, you can't miss what you have never had!

Anyway, tell Mr. A, the FL teacher guy is doing well and having the best year of his career!  I might just stick this thing out for the long haul.