the-anti-internet - Tumblr blog

[the-anti-internet]

#trypod

Hey, haven't been around in awhile. I've been "busy" over at @petesmediadiary logging (once a week, usually Sundays) all the media I consume (plugtime over). But in honor of #trypod, a campaign to make people aware of podcasts, here comes a list of all of the podcasts that I listen to with a brief description of what the podcast is about: 12 Hour Day with J.D. and Connor -- Each episode is at least 12 hours long where the hosts hang out for a day. You follow them as they hang out, and do things around New York City. (Comes out a couple of times a year) Comedy Bang Bang -- Scott Aukerman hosts where each episode he has on a comedian and other odd people come in after a brief interview segment Mike and Tom Eat Snacks -- Each episode Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh Pick a snack, Eat a snack, and Rate a snack. (Currently on extended hiatus, but worth listening to the back catalogue) The Indoor Kids -- Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V Gordon talk about video games and other stuff they are watching. (Also currently on hiatus, but might be coming back soon?) Womp It Up! -- Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham spun off their characters Marissa Wompler and Charlotte Listler from Comedy Bang Bang where Marissa has a senior project podcast from her schools library where they interview the schools faculty and other students. (Hopefully it will be back after Playing House season 3) Spontaneanation with Paul F Tompkins -- PFT has a chat with a celebrity guest and then he and some improvisors do a 30 minute long improv based on that conversation. Harmontown -- Dan Harmon has a mental breakdown on stage, and raps about having sex with your momma. The K Ohle with Kurt Braunohler -- No longer active, but it was a multi-format podcast that Kurt hosted. Pet-o-philia and Get Lost were the two best formats. Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People -- Chris Gethard takes a call from a random person and is not allowed to hang up for an hour. At the hour mark the call is ended. Surprisingly heartfelt and wonderful. My love of Gethard aside, this is a GREAT podcast. Hollywood Handbook -- Sean Clements and Hayes Davenport are two of Hollywood's elite and drop names on this red carpet we call showbiz. This is some of the hardest I have ever laughed. It does take some getting used to though. You will hate it for the first few episodes. Emotional Hangs -- Kurt Braunohler and Joe Derosa explore their friendship and break down adult friendships and try to be open and vulnerable with each other. Rose Buddies -- Griffin McElroy and his wife Rachel recap episodes of The Bachelor family of TV shows. (I have never watched an episode of The Bachelor Family of shows) You Made It Weird w/ Pete Holmes -- Pete talks about Comedy, Sex, and God with pretty much anyone (usually comedians) who will talk to him about it. (Harris Wittels #3 is one of the best episodes of a podcast I have ever heard. It's an episode where Harris is open and honest about his struggles with addiction, and he is so effortlessly funny about it too. Spoilers: While the episode ends hopeful and on a way that makes everything seem like Harris is going to turn it around, he died from an overdose less than a month after the episode was released) Who Charted? -- Howard Kremer and Kyla's Vilaysack count down the charts in Music and Movies every week. Pistol Shrimps Radio -- Matt Gourley and Mark McConville don't know anything about basketball, but that doesn't stop them from doing the play by play of a women's recreational basketball league in LA. The Worst Idea of All Time -- Guy Montgomery and Tim Batt watch and review the same movie once a week for an entire year. Year one: Grown Ups 2. Year 2: Sex and the City 2. Year 3: We Are Your Friends (currently still going) Doughboys -- Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger review a different chain restaurant every week. My Favorite Murder -- every episode Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff each talk about a murder and go through the story of it. The Dollop -- Dave Anthony tells an American history story to his friend Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is going to be. The Adventure Zone -- The McElroy brothers and daddy play dungeons and dragons together. It's some of the best storytelling you will ever hear and it's consistently incredibly funny. Never Not Funny -- Jimmy Pardo hosts a relaxed chat with a celebrity guest. Doug Loves Movies -- Doug Benson plays movie games with comedians and funny people. Totally Beverages (and Sometimes Hot Sauce) -- Andy Rosen and Intern Josh do blind shootouts of beverages trying to figure out which is which and guess their favorites. (I "produced" episode 100, so selfishly I would suggest that episode) CoolGames Inc. -- Griffin McElroy and Nick Robinson create a new video game every week. With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus -- Every week Lauren is the guest on a different host's made up podcast. How Did This Get Made? -- Paul Scheer, Jason Mantzoukas, and June Diane Raphael talk about a different (usually) bad movie. No Such Thing As A Fish -- Writers of British panel show QI talk about their four favourite facts of the week that they learned while researching for QI. Ding-Donger with Matt Braunger -- Matt Braunger hitchhikes into your life for 30 to 45 minutes each week as he tells you what's been going on with him. Thanks for picking him up! The Bugle -- Andy Zaltzman and a rotating group of co-hosts talk about what's been going on in the world over the past week. (Formerly co-hosted by John Oliver) Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction -- Comedians write erotic fan fiction about pop culture and read it in front of a live audience. Slumber Party with Alie and Georgia -- Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark have a guest over and they play slumber party games. What Say You? -- Sal and Q from Impractical Jokers talk about whatever is on their minds. Cardboard! With Rich Sommer -- Rich Sommer (Harry Crane from Mad Men) talks about board games. Black List Table Reads -- Franklin Leonard produces "ear movies" each episode is a table read of an unproduced screenplay. Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher -- Moshe has an expert on a topic as well as three other comedians on stage to talk about the experts subject in a town hall style meeting. Post Pink -- Justin Linville and Robby (who's last name I've forgotten) talk about Weezer's releases since Pinkerton. U Talkin' U2 To Me? -- Scott Aukerman and Adam Scott talk about everything U2 related in the dumbest way possible. Tell Us How Your Dog Died -- David Kramer and David Stoll talk to a guest about how their dog died. Legitimately one of the best earwormiest theme songs ever. Even though there hasn't been an episode (and probably won't be any more) I still find myself singing the theme song to myself fairly often. 'Till Death Do Us Blart -- The McElroy brothers and the guys from The Worst Idea of All Time Review Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 every thanksgiving for the rest of eternity. In the event of one of their deaths they are to bequeath their spot to someone else who will take the mantle. FizzyBoys -- Don Finelli and Chris Gethard review a different soda every episode. The Ones Who Knock -- A podcast that recaps every episode of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul Decoding Westworld -- From the people who brought you The Ones Who Knock talk about Westworld. Analyze Phish -- Harris Wittels (rip) tries to convince Scott Aukerman that Phish is a good band. Andy Daly Podcast Pilot Project -- Andy Daly's many characters from Comedy Bang Bang each try to get their own podcast at earwolf. Each episode is the first episode of what their podcast would be. New Years Eve with Neil Hamburger -- Listen to Neil count down the new year! In Your Dreams with Chris Gethard -- Chris and Dream Analysis Expert Gary Richardson analyze the dreams of people who called in with a different guest each episode. End of podcasts that I'm subscribed to. Now onto podcasts that I am either working through their back catalogs, or listen to depending on the episode: My Brother, My Brother, and Me -- An advice show for the modern era, the McElroy brothers give their listeners (and Yahoo answers users) advice. Started listening in June, currently on episode 114 out of 346. Hard Nation -- A spoof on Right Wing Political talk shows. Brothers Mark and Pete Hard host a show with a different political guest (a comedian pretending to be a political figure) Dr. Gameshow -- Jo Firestone hosts a radio call in show where listeners submit their ideas for game shows and Jo has comedians play the games in studio. No longer active and the back catalog is disappearing. So get on this one quick if you want to listen. Jordan, Jesse, Go! -- Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn talk with a different guest. (Guest dependent) Hopefully We Don't Break Up -- Couple Will Miles and Giulia Rozzi talk with other real life couples (usually at least one comedian) about their relationships. High and Mighty -- Jon Gabrus talks with a guest about something that they are both passionate about. (Guest and/or topic dependent) If I Were You -- Jake and Amir give advice to their listeners. (Guest dependent, but the Ben Schwartz, Jon Gabrus, Thomas Middleditch, And Rose McIver episodes are all must listens) The Adventures of Danny and Mike -- Danny Tamberelli and Mike Maronna (better known as Pete and Pete) go on a monthly adventure together. I Was There Too -- Matt Gourley talks to an actor with a small-ish role on a big movie. Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend -- Alison Rosen talks to a person of note. (Guest dependent) This Feels Terrible -- Erin McGathy talks to people about relationships and why they make people feel terrible. Fitzdog Radio -- Greg Fitzsimmons interviews (usually) another comedian. (Guest dependent) 100 Words or Less -- Interviews with musicians. (Guest dependent) Going Off Track -- Interviews with musicians. (Guest dependent) The Best Show with Tom Scharpling -- Tom Scharpling's long running radio talk show. I don't have enough time in my week to listen to this every week, but whenever I can squeeze it n it's always worth it. The JV Club -- Janet Varney interviews People about what they were like in their formative years and then plays M.A.S.H. with them. (Guest dependent) Put Your Hands Together -- The audio recording of the weekly standup show hosted by Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher. The Todd Glass Show -- Todd Glass has a guest and it's just non-stop bits. There we go. There are all of the podcasts that I listen to regularly (or at least check in with regularly). There should be something in there for everyone. You're a champion for reading all the way through this, and if you try one of these and like it, please let me know. I would be happy to talk about any of them.

[the-anti-internet]

March 5th

The cancer is furious but our son is resilient. We have all the faith we'll get through this no matter what the end. Treatments are violent but he keeps on smiling. It's amazing finding joy in the little things

[the-anti-internet]

This is my side blog that I have started where I log everything that I have intentionally watched or listened to each day.

January 3rd, 2017

Podcasts:

Hollywood Handbook – Ben Rogers, Our Boo 2016 Friend Casper Presents: In Your Dreams w/ Chris Gethard – 4 Never Not Funny – 1917 Mike Siegel (video) [fell asleep]

TV: Brooklyn Nine Nine – 4x10, 4x11 Conviction – 1x10

Movies: Passengers (theater)

[the-anti-internet]

Here's a thing I decided I'm going to do. Follow if you'd like to join me on my media consumption journey beginning in 2017.

Mission Statement

My goal is to log (pretty much) all media I consume in 2017.

In 2016 I kept track of all the movies I watched.  And in February I realized I should have done that for TV too.  So here is what I’m going to keep a log of:

Movies

TV episodes

Podcasts

Music

I don’t intend to log things I watch on Youtube unless I use Youtube to watch/listen to something that falls into these four established categories.  As an example I am currently watching The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year 2016.  So I would log that as it originally aired on Television, or if I use Youtube to listen to an album, then I will log it.

Also if I am somewhere and something is on/playing but I am not paying attention to it or it is purely in the background then I will not log it.  Examples of this, music that is playing at a grocery store, when I am closing at GameStop and my co-worker puts on his music that I don’t care for and don’t know what it is, if I am at a friends house and a television is on but we aren’t paying attention to it.

Another category of things that I don’t intend on logging, but might, I haven’t really decided yet, is Sports/Event television.  Event television meaning the Oscars/Emmys or other once a year things.

I have not yet decided how to handle partial views.  How much of something do I watch to qualify it for logging?  Do I specify how much I watched (roughly) when I log it?

I have a few more days to figure this out before it officially begins, and I’m open to suggestions.  

[the-anti-internet]

Where I'm going to be until Midnight tonight!

[the-anti-internet]

Honeydill

[the-anti-internet]

At a PWR BTTM show eagerly awaiting the gloriousness.

[the-anti-internet]

I've had a good 24 hours: -I (sort of) got my first submission in Jiu-jitsu last night -I saw Don't Think Twice, a movie that is very important to me, for the second time tonight -I got another class action lawsuit check for $2.01 from Red Bull in the mail today -I just caught another mouse (5th this fall) in a have-a-heart trap and drove to a park a little over a mile from my house to release him and just reset it again. And in the next 48 hours I'm going to see Cayetana, PUP, and PWR BTTM. I'm doing alright.

[the-anti-internet]

It's 1:50am and I just got home

After seeing Career Suicide. I'm too tired to write much and I have to be up in about 5 hours, but it was hugely worth it and everyone at the Lynn Redgrave theatre (especially Robin and David) are great people. Will write more later today or tomorrow. Thanks Geth. Thanks for everything.

[the-anti-internet]

Awww hell yeah. Totally worth the miserable drive from New Hamphsire for the sole purpose of seeing this show tonight. Starts at 7:30!

[the-anti-internet]

Last Night (aka Steve Beres Appreciation Post)

I live in New Hampshire and am a fan of The Chris Gethard Show. One of the things that I like the most about the show is the community around the show. They are incredibly welcoming and supportive. They open their arms and embrace anyone else who loves the show (as long as the new fan isn't a creeper or a meany). I reactivated my long dormant tumblr because of the TCGS fan community as it helped me get to know the other fans a great deal more and gave me a way to interact than just in the MNN chat room. And I have followed a number of really cool people because of it. Steve Beres (@truckstopglam)is one of those people. A few months ago Steve mentioned on tumblr that he was playing a show in New Hampshire about an hour away from where I live. I was stoked to go support. I told a friend about it who lives close by and had been to the venue a couple of times and we made plans to go. Steve played second and absolutely destroyed. The first band was a bit of a hometown draw so there was a good number of people at the show. Steve opened by playing the EP "Everything and More" in its entirety, and then played a number of songs from all over the rest of the catalog. I can't stress enough how good of a time I had. Two people in front of me kept looking at each other while feeling the music and smiling so big and then would go back to watching Steve just destroy. They ended up being members of the next band to play (Tiny Hazard, also great) but in between songs they just kept saying how much they were enjoying this. After the set I talked briefly to Steve and said how much I enjoyed the set and how appreciative and amazed I was that he drove 7 hours one way to play this show. Anyways, I just want to say how much I love this community and its fans that are so talented and doing such cool, great things. Keep it up, all of you. And if any of you are ever in New England I will gladly travel to support any of you in your various endeavors.

[the-anti-internet]

One Year Ago Today I started writing this while sitting next to my mom waiting for my brother and sister to get to the hospital to have their chance to say goodbye to my mom.

My mom

In 2004 my mom called me to ask me for money so she could by cigarettes. I was a sophomore in college and didn’t have very much money myself. I told her that I couldn’t help her and she hung up on me. She hated having to ask me for help on this, and I could hear the desperation in her voice. And then when I couldn’t help her the anger and disappointment came through just before she hung up. That conversation stuck with me for the rest of the week.

That weekend I went home, and the anxiety and depression in my brain had convinced me that I would be walking in to discover that my mom had died.

She was fine. She was mad at me, but she had scrounged enough money together to get by. But on that drive from Castleton, VT to Concord, NH I came to terms with my mom’s death.

It’s now September 20th, 2015 and at 5:37PM my mom passed away. She had gone into the hospital on September 8th for a surgery to have the upper lobe of her left lung removed. She was expected to have a relatively easy, full recovery. The day after the surgery she was up and walking and eating and in good spirits. On Thursday she declined a little bit and needed an oxygen mask. On Friday she needed a Bi-pap machine. She hated the Bi-pap machine. She was constantly fiddling with the mask, and a nurse eventually had to sit in with her to remind her to leave it alone. On Saturday night she was transferred to the ICU because she needed more care. By Monday she was still fighting with the Bi-pap mask and they put her on a ventilator because she wasn’t getting better like they wanted, so they put her into deep sedation and paralyzed her so that the machine was doing everything for her. Until today there were “good” days and bad days. A “good” day meant she stayed stable. A bad day meant something else went wrong. Today was a bad day.

My mom and I have always been incredibly close. Her health declined pretty severely two years ago, and because of that episode she had some difficulty walking and needed a cane when she went out. I would visit with her every Monday and Friday and we would go out and do any errands that she wanted to do. We would talk and laugh and have a good time. Any time we did something that was unplanned we would call it “going on an adventure”. Two days before her surgery we were doing errands and I decided to take her on an adventure and take her out for her favorite meal: steak. And now I’m so glad I did.

She lived an incredible life. At 19 she and a friend decided they were going to move to Los Angeles. They packed up and drove cross country. My mom volunteered at the front desk to a hospital in Hollywood. Her favorite story was one day Robert Morse came to visit someone. She told him “the next time you come back bring one of your famous friends.” The next time he came by he brought Rock Hudson.

She went to three parties at Elvis’ house. The first time she walked up to the house uninvited. A bodyguard asked her name. She had the same last name as Elvis’ mother’s maiden name, and Elvis wanted to meet her because of that. She was then invited to two more parties after that.

While she lived in LA one of the places she lived was in the red light district. One time she was doing laundry when a man was about to approach her and another woman who lived there stopped him and said “Don’t. She’s one of the good girls.”

And she was. She was one of the good girls.

I love you mom, and I’ll miss you.

[the-anti-internet]

One Year Ago Today

I got a phone call from the hospital this morning telling me that during the morning suctioning out of my moms lungs they got a lot of blood. So they were calling to tell me that it I should probably come down sooner rather than later. It wasn't urgent enough that she was going to pass immediately, but the doctors didn't think that pursing any other courses of treatment were worthwhile. My sister Becky had let me know that she was going to come down from Maine to see her, and I texted my brother Ben to let him know that if he wanted to say goodbye he should come too. So I went to the hospital to wait for them and to say my goodbyes. I watched the Patriots vs Bills, and spent a good deal of time just looking at her. She was still bloated from the retaining fluids, and she looked like my mom while also looking nothing like my mom. The night of my mom's surgery, 12 days ago, a coworker of mine's father passed away in a terrible accident. He was devastated. But watching him go through what he did actually made me sort of grateful for the experience that I was having. I kept describing it as getting into a swimming pool. Over the last 12 days I had been slowly getting deeper and deeper in the pool, getting more and more acclimatized to the water, but pretty soon I was going to have to dunk my head under the water pretty soon. I asked the nurses what was going to happen after we had all said our goodbyes. They said they were going to withdraw the breathing tube, and normally when that happens the person just stops breathing. She was on a number of sedatives and so the nurses said it would be painless and peaceful. My brother and sister arrived. We hung out in the room, told some stories, talked a bit, then each said our goodbyes. I gave her one last hug. I told her that I loved her and I would miss her. The nurses gave us the option to go to the waiting room or stay with her. I made the decision to go the waiting room. We gathered all of our and her things and sat there. About 10 minutes later a nurse came in to let us know that at 5:37 my mom had passed. The rest of the night is pretty hazy. I don't remember leaving the hospital. I remember making a number of phone calls to people to let them know. I remember how much I love her. I remember how much I miss her.

[the-anti-internet]

One Year Ago Today

On Thursday my mom’s doctor told me that he had a family emergency and he may not be around for a few days, but he had briefed other doctors on my mom and she was in good hands.  Today at the hospital I was talking to one of the other doctors and he introduced himself to me as Dr. Akey.  I asked him if he was related to Lisa Akey, he said that was his daughter.  I told him that I went to elementary school with her and I hadn’t seen her for years.

My sister, Kate, her husband Reid, and my nephew Griffin were in town today and Kate asked if she could come to visit.  She wanted to see my mom and have a chance to say goodbye should it come to that.  I told her that would be fine.  Just before she got there the doctor told me that my mom’s O2 levels had dropped significantly last night, and they were in the 68 to 72 range.  Sometimes they would drop for a little bit to that range, but this had been pretty consistently down there.  Since being intubated she was regularly in the mid to high 80s.  So when we were down visiting they were going to turn my mom onto her stomach to see if that would help with the O2 levels, and also drain any fluid that had been collecting in her lungs.  The doctor told me that with the O2 levels dropping so significantly, if the dialysis didn’t start taking and the O2 levels didn’t raise that there wasn’t going to be much more they could do for her.

When Kate and family arrived I went out to get them.  I was told by the nurses that only two people were allowed in the room, so Reid and Griffin waited out in the waiting area.  Kate and I went into her room and Kate was clearly upset by seeing my mom this way.  All of my brothers and sisters are from my dad’s first marriage.  I was the only child from his second marriage.  So my mom was Kate’s stepmom for 12 years.  My mom had a pretty stereotypical stepmom relationship with all the kids, a rollercoaster of contentiousness as children, but as they grew into adults she got along with all of them, despite no longer being an official stepmom anymore.  There wasn’t much interaction between my mom and my sibilings after my parents got divorced, but when there was it was always nice and my mom enjoyed it.  She had a strong dislike for my father, not his kids, she cared for them deeply.

Kate and I hung out with her for a little bit.  After a few minutes I asked if Kate wanted to have a minute alone with her.  She said, “Sure”.  I had been there for awhile and it was getting late in the afternoon so I had decided to go home when they left.  So I said my goodbye to my mom, told her I would be back tomorrow and left Kate alone and went out to the waiting area.  When I opened the door to the ICU I saw Griffin running up and down the hospital hallways having a grand time.  He was laughing and having fun, and Reid was following him around.  The Concord hospital is a strange place, as the hallways outside of the ICU always seemed empty.  I don’t know if the operating rooms are around there, but it wasn’t patient rooms or floors, so Griffin wasn’t disrupting anything.  I joined in the fun with Griffin and a few minutes later Kate came out too.  Her, Reid, and I stood in the waiting area chatting for a few minutes, Kate asked if she should mention to Becky (her twin sister) that she should probably come see my mom.  I told her that if she wanted to I’m sure my mom would like that, and if these last two things didn’t show improvement, that if she wanted a chance to say goodbye that it would be a good idea.  I was going to be there in the afternoon again, so anytime was fine by me.

We left the hospital and I went home.

[the-anti-internet]

Put A Director In My Inbox And I Will Rank Their Movies

[the-anti-internet]

In 2000 in the state of New Hampshire Bush got 48% of the vote to Gore's 47%. Nader got 4%.

Assuming the Green Party tends to lean more democratic and half of those Nader votes were people supporting the third party candidate like people are currently threatening to, Gore would have won New Hampshire and the whole Florida nonsense wouldn't have mattered, as Gore would have had the electoral college without Florida.

not voting for hillary clinton is a vote for donald trump

[the-anti-internet]

One Year Ago Today

Tonight I had tickets to see The Fall of Troy in Boston.  They had recently gotten the original line-up back together and they were playing their album Doppelganger start to finish.  It is one of my favorite albums by them (In the Unlikely Event is my number 1), but with everything that was going on with my mom and my toe I didn’t think it would be a good idea to go to Boston for the show. My toe still was in significant pain and I was still wearing a slipper on one foot, and I didn’t want to run the risk of standing on it for too long.  I wasn’t worried about it being stepped on, because there was no way I was going anywhere near the pit regardless of my toe.

So I went to the hospital for another visit.  She had gained nearly 18kg in 48 hours because she wasn’t producing urine.  The doctors had started dialysis earlier in the day, but it hadn’t really started working yet.  She looked so puffy and bloated.

From what the doctors were telling me I still had hope she could pull through though.  They didn’t know why she stopped producing urine, just like they didn’t know why she had developed ARDS, but both of these problems were fixable.  It would be difficult, but it could still be done.  I was still doubtful that she would want to get better at this point. But we were still trying.