Show #027: A Nice Can of Bread
mbe_2″ src=”http://www.paulandstorm.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/gad4-55cm-high-ghanian-djembe_2.jpg” alt=”” height=”150″ />The twenty-seventhth episode of our podcast, Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average), is now online.
This week’s episode: the decline of TV theme songs (theories both practical and crackpot); the shame of having ever liked “Friends”; further exploration regarding categories of geeks; pandering that tried to claim it’s not pandering; the need for our own fan-generated contest; minions are sicced on Len and Nora; creative gridlock necessitates pressing the button for plotting an alternate route; and we realize that we will not have a righteous video unless we have Eddie Van Halen.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Are greasemonkeys geeks? How about obsessive gardeners? Where do YOU draw the line? PLUS…tell us what kind of contest Paul & Storm should run (see poll below and/or write in) .
Featured post-show song: “Hippie with a Djembe” – Paul and Storm
Show #027: A Nice Can of Bread (Some content NSFW)
[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/www.paulandstorm.com/podcasts/PS_5-10_027.mp3]Enjoy the podcast? Maybe donate, why don’tcha?
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32 Comments
There are some who will argue that geeks are any person who knows a lot about a narrow topic or niche field. I disagree. I consider that definition to encompass both nerds and geeks. The difference, in my opinion, is the nature of a person’s field of study.
If a person’s field of study is generally academic, such as chemistry or physics or even the liberal arts like philosophy or history, then that person is a nerd.
I take the Beat the Geeks aspect of geekitude. A geek’s field of study is pop culture related, be it as general as music or as specific as a single Star Trek series.
Greasemonkeys don’t really fit very well in either of those categories. I’d say that people like greasemonkeys fit in with programmers and people whose fields are often covered in high school vocational training. What to call them, I don’t know. Techie could be appropriate for greasemonkeys, drafters, and computer gurus, but that appellation would seem silly when applied to other things often associated with vocational training, such as home economics or agriculture.
Uhh…… You want to talk about awesome theme songs for shows? How about talking about Scrubs? I also think, Monkey Shines had a good theme song, but that was a different story. Also, well, the Simpsons, Family Guy, and classic Nickelodeon (classic meaning like when I was the right age to watch) had good themes, if I remember.
My theory? I blame the Jews.
Greasemonkey is only geeky as a Firefox add-on, nothing else.
You don’t have to be a geek to work in GNU+Linux, FYI.
Well, a hacker is someone who enjoys clever playfulness not necessarily with computers. I don’t know geeks, but hacker can definitely apply to all sorts of people.
“The Talmud Stuff” would have been a great Podcast title.
Hi we’re listeners and we’ll be downloading your podcast 2-3 thousand times…. on average.
Not everyone uses iTunes, guys, srsly. And some who do don’t want to give the thugs at Apple their credit card info and such, which you need to do before you can get one of those accounts and post comments and stuff.
I actually like the science fair idea. I’ve never been in a science fair, so should be fun.
“Paul and Stormium – It tastes like cheese” should be your next album.
Can I extend science to computer science, and therefore release it as code?
Instead of volcano, how about a…. LOLcano. LOL.
Shredding? Like the Nixon administration? ZING!
“Building the Eiffel Tower” is a GREAT euphemism, by the way, I start using it, actually.
Is Northern Virginia the real Virginia, I always forget which one is real and which is the fake Virginia.
I actually own a Djembe and I can play it, I would say, pretty well.
Good podcast guys. I shall now in fact go things and be a good day.
1. But Greasemonkeys often come with other Geek-ish elements. A lot of techies are fans of fantasy and science fiction (Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and the like) and participants in Renaissance festivals and whatnot. And I think that those particular qualities fall squarely under the heading of “geek.”
2. Someone ought to do a real academic study of where the lines between “geek,” “nerd” and other similar labels ought to be drawn.
(Can you tell I’m in a university library attempting to write a masters thesis?)
I think you boys broke itunes again…show #27 is the audio for #26. The files on the website are correct though. Good thing I checked my ipod before I left the house or I’d be one sad little minion.
Bread actually does come in cans.
http://www.amazon.com/B-Brown-Bread-Raisin-oz/dp/B0000TA3QW
I say being a greesemonkey is an entirely separate quality from being a geek. People can be both, but one does not imply the other.
Geek is not synonymous with obsession.
“Bald with goatee, pudgy, semi-decent social skills”…I immediately broke into a cold sweat and started searching for the hidden camera in my office. 😉
Guess I always get concerned when we try to draw the line between geeks, nerds & dorks…begins to sound pretentious like “Trekkers” as opposed to “Trekkies”. Reminds me of classical musicians looking down their noses at jazz, and in turn jazz musicians looking down upon rock, and so on, etcetera.
I’m a geek, nerd, dork, whatever…I embrace them all.
PS I just received my Minion shirt in Penn State blue & white from CafePress…very nice!!
Greasemonkeys can totally be geeks. They’re mechanical geeks. I tend toward the definition that geeks have a lot of detailed information in a specific field of interest, while nerds have a lot of general information in a lot of areas but know how to get more detail quickly. Ergo geeks come in an infinite array of flavors: e.g. music geeks, theater geeks, computer geeks, sci-fi geeks, horticulture geeks, sports statistics geeks, etc.
I agree that the TV theme song has declined sharply over the last four or five years. I blame Lost. They have a perfectly good reason for not wanting a credit sequence, but the networks jumped all over the concept without considering if it was a good idea for every show just because they could put in 30 more seconds of advertising. :-\ To this day, I can still sing the entirety of the Transformers, Gummi Bears, and Saved By the Bell themes, just because I watched them every Saturday morning. That said, there are still a few gems out there. Big Bang Theory, Battlestar Galactica and the undying Doctor Who theme spring to mind.
I would totally write a good review on iTunes for you, except I don’t use it. How else could I fulfill this minion mission? I am eager to utilize my new military green t-shirt. 🙂
Contests: definitely shirts and the science fair. I said recipes, too, but a part of me doesn’t want to share my favorites with the interwebs; they’re sort of personal, y’know?
ah, Paul… it happen again. Itunes people got the show from last week again. oh the irony of how that show start apologizing for that mistake before.
It appears the fix has finally worked; the new podcast plugin has alleviated the problem, and show 27 is now actually show 27. Glory be.
P&S.
I was thinking about how awesome it would be for you to run a Paul and Storm song contest. You can see what people really think of you melodically. Isn’t it about time that us minions entertain you for once?
I believe that the poll in this post is broken, as I cannot vote, and is shows zero votes in all categories…
also, double commenting to say that show 25 on iTunes actually is show 25, not 24. Hooray!
Poll is now fixed; in case you care, the code for it had been placed inside the form code of the donation button. Oops.
P&S.
Daniel beat me to the canned bread citation (which I think I’ve linked to before). Canned brown bread with cream cheese is a beautiful thing.
I’m hoping that slash fic is a rhetorical choice, and I’m a little disturbed that it’s currently beating out the T-shirt option. :-S
I have done my Minion duty and written a complimentary, though not overly gushy, review on iTunes. Not one “LOL” in it. 🙂
Psych actually extended it’s opening sequence from the last season to this one to make more room for the very popular opening theme song.
In addition to the previously mentioned Scrubs> and Big Bang Theory, how can you guys forget the band that’s still alive in Geek Madness: “Boss Of Me” for Malcolm in the Middle?!
Contest: Concert Prop. Who can make the best “prop” for a Paul and Storm show.
Requirements:
1. It must be dropped off on stage moments before the show begins with no forewarning or explanation, and P&S must instantly understand how and when to use it.
2. It must seamlessly integrate into the existing show, enhancing the concert experience for both the performers and the audience.
If these requirements are not met, P&S are under no obligation to use it.
I think “slash fiction” is a great idea and we should start with slashing copies of Dan Brown books. Who’s with me?
What was the Eddie Van Halen reference about?
On a loosely related note…Van Halen rules!
I second Robin’s description of the difference between geeks and nerds.
@ Richard: I like your idea, but lets not turn this into a carrot-top show… can you imagine if there are 8-10 random objects on the stage that they have to fit into their show? It spells disaster.
I googled “song fu” and this is what came up as #2.
http://cramer.cs.nmt.edu/~song/
Woot! Looks like it’s gonna be a geek cook off! Cheetos Burgers!
@Roman: Northern Virginia is indeed Fake Virginia! Hodgman confirmed this when he signed my “More Information” with “I’m sorry you do not live in America”. It’s actually quite nice here being, uh, imaginary?
Okay, time to reveal my secret shame. (One of them, at least.) When I was about 10 or 12 I taped the theme to Green Acres on my cheapo cassette recorder then played it back – repeatedly – at loud volume while walking down the street.
You’re not going to repeal my minion status, are you?
Do a contest for best picture(s) of a minion wearing a Paul & Storm t-shirt in an exotic or weird location.
about the suggestions for the contest, how about a costume contest. There could be a theme or not depending on your mood.
Contest, Other: Um, pottery or sculpture? Cuz that’s what I do. A looong time ago I made a tiny bust of Weird Al out of pink playdo. He still has it.
TV theme song comment #2: The Big Bang Theory has a great theme song done by the Barenaked Ladies. It’s old school in that it has actual lyrics, but it’s short in keeping with the need for more commercials.
Your comment about “Functioning Geeks” reminds me of my mom’s favorite term for me and my hubby and some of our friends: “High-Functioning Nerds.” We’re into video games (especially MMOs and Rock Band), we played DnD in our day…my hubby is a software engineer, and I’m in theatre…yet we still remain able to act normally in social situations. Hence, High-Functioning Nerds. 🙂
So on the topic of Flashmobbing a podcast, I think Mark Twain’s One Man Show needs it like no tomorrow. I think the humor works well enough as a crossover for Paul & Storm fans as well, so we should hop on that.
That is Mark Twain’s One Man Show Radio Show. The music from the actual band is not so good.
I love how Hippie with a Djambe sounds so much like Harry Belafonte’s Turn the World Around.
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