We thought it would behoove us to mention that our shows this weekend (Fri/Sat, August 15-16) at the Diamond Jo Casino are ABSOLUTELY FREE. We’ll be appearing with the hilarious Larry Reeb. So if you’re anywhere near Northwood, IA this weekend, are over the age of 21, and don’t feel like going to the State Fair, the why not come out to the best free show* you’re gonna see this year? Full details here; first come, first served.
*Money-back guarantee!
We are once again taking part in the Masters of Song Fu songwriting challenge at Quick Stop Entertainment.
Some of the same old faces are around this time in the Masters’ Circle—Jonathan Coulton, Doc Hammer—but in keeping with the tradition of adding too many villains to the story in the sequel, there’s a new, even more unpredictable and potentially dangerous character in the mix: The RiffTones. That is to say, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy and Mike Nelson—the gang behind Rifftrax, and formerly of the legendary Mystery Science Theater 3000. Welcome to the party, fellas…
The challenge for Round 1 of Song Fu 2 is as follows:
"WRITE A SONG ABOUT THE MOON."
Don’t know what we’re gonna do yet, but we sure hope it’s good!
Please to be enjoying the latest in our ongoing array of photo galleries, Rejected Snack Foods.
This gallery is a bit self-referential, combining two existing works of ours: Rejected Commercial Jingles, and Snack Foods That Sound Like Sex Acts…
Although the snack food industry does seem to have a fetish for naughty-sounding brands, like the entertainment industry there are lines they will not cross. The following set of images are brands that were developed but never released to the public due to regulatory concerns.
Hey, look: it’s the second episode of our now-weekly (theoretically) podcast, Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average)!
In this episode, not much is working entirely correctly; and Storm is nearly undone by technology and popcorn. Also covered: where we’re headed (both musically and podcastically), butter, jigsaw puzzles, lumpy bands, radish-based disappointment, our struggle to find the funny, and Paul’s fat head. All this and more in a podcast you can fit in during your lunch break down at Quiznos.
Intro music: “The By Cracky Beat” – Lowney’s Chocolates
Outro music: “Happy Days Polka” – Olaf Sveen; “The Popcorn Man” – The Tunetwisters
UPDATE: Click here to view the harvested heads mentioned in this week’s episode.
Show #002: Not Quite According to Plan (Some content NSFW)
Enjoy the podcast? Maybe donate, why don’tcha?
We’re trying to create some buzz about our upcoming shows in England with Jonathan Coulton this October.
How’s this for a start?
Keep an eye out for more of these as the dates approach…
As promised, here’s the “Podcast News, Part II” we hinted at two posts ago…
Seeing as we appear to be the last two people on the planet without their own podcast, we’ve decided to finally drink the Kool-Aid and start one. Because what the world was missing was one more “two guys sitting around, talking about whatever” podcast, right?
So join us as we dive head first into the 128kbps waters with our brand new podcast:
Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average)
In this inaugural (and, who knows, possibly final) episode, entitled “Where’s Poochie?“, we cover basic podcasting theory, our need for constant feedback, obsessions fantastic and mundane, eating habits, meat-generating technology, and other topics that might possibly be mildly interesting to we’re not sure who.
NOTE: the podcast plugin we’re using is not playing entirely nicely with the other .mp3-playing plugin we use elsewhere on the site. So far, this has manifested itself thusly: a) a number of extra little “play” buttons in this post (for some browsers, at least); and b) the streaming player, which should appear at the bottom of this post, doesn’t appear until you click the “Play Now” link below. We’re aware of the problem, and are working on fixing it. But the annoyance should be minor at worst. Thanks for withholding your vitriol over the matter.
Show #001: Where’s Poochie?! (Some content NSFW)
UPDATE: This podcast will be forthcoming in iTunes. Alternately, here is the reg’lar ol’ feed. Or you can click on the orange icon thingy: 
UPDATE #2: In theory, the streaming player should now be visible above by default. If anyone is still having trouble with it, please let us know.
(We’re reinstating our long-lost tradition of occasional food/restaurant reviews. This one’s from our last big road trip to the Midwest)
July 18, 2008 – Red Iguana
Salt Lake City, UT
Mexican
Rating: +2 (0 = average; +3 = lifetime memorable; -2 = physically sickened)
It wasn’t a hard decision to head for this restaurant—moments after Twittering that we were looking for a decent place for a bite in Salt Lake City, several people recommended the Red Iguana.
Good sign number one: upon arrival around noon on a Friday, we saw a dozen or so people waiting outside of an undistinguished building on an undistinguished section of road just outside of the downtown area.
Good sign number two: no one waiting seemed at all cranky about the delay.
Good sign number three: there was no time for a third good sign, because the place is much larger than it looks from the outside, and we were quickly seated.
You can’t judge a Mexican restaurant entirely by its chips and salsa, but you can gather a lot of clues. Red Iguana’s chips were fresh and well sized for dipping, with just enough salt on them to bring out their yellow corn taste. The salsa said even more: despite not being especially thick or chunky, the smoky-vinegary mixture clung nicely to the chips, packing just enough of a peppery punch to arm the taste buds.
Each of us took several laps through the menu, finding way too many entrees and appetizers that we wanted to try. Our compromise was to share an appetizer, chile con queso, in addition to our entrees.
This proved to be a miscalculation. Not because we didn’t like the queso—nay, nay! We adored it. Absolutely wanted to cuddle it like a teddy bear, and we would have if it hadn’t been a gigantic pot of hot melted cheese, tangy and slightly sweet with large slivers and chunks of hot and bell peppers set within like dinosaurs in the La Brea tar pits. It was the sheer size of the dip that caused the trouble—it was clearly intended to be shared by a table full of people. By the time our entrees arrived, you could barely tell that we’d eaten any of it, even though we’d been flitting in and out of it for a solid ten minutes.
All thoughts of queso flew out of our minds when the entrees hit the table. In front of Paul: a trio of enchiladas that was the special of the day, all smothered in a densely-spiced, smoky red sauce. Side of guacamole passed the purity test and was well laced with garlic. Beef, chicken and cheese fillings did what they were supposed to do, anchoring the whole thing.
But the big winner of the day was Storm and his pork mole (mo-LAY…spicy sauce, not facial blemish.) The menu featured a half dozen different moles, each more fantastical than the last. And the "Lomo de Puerco en Mole de Almendras" was the most fantastical of them all. Nuts, raisins, artichoke and other goodies rolled into a pork loin, baked tender, and smothered in a nutty/creamy sauce reminiscent of Indian cuisine’s korma, or Thai satay dip. Served with fresh, hot flour tortillas for dipping.
Final tally: mole entirely consumed, enchilada plate mortally wounded, beans and rice dallied with, and queso appreciated but still insulted.
Service was friendly and unobtrusive. Don’t miss the horchata or grab a Jalisco Limon to wash it down.
nydecastlogo.jpg” alt=”” />Our friend Ken Plume over at Quick Stop Entertainment hosts a weekly podcast with Dana Snyder (actor, raconteur, and voice of Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) called the Ken P.D. Snyde-Cast.
When Dana became suddenly unavailable yesterday, Ken madly rifled through his Rolodex, desperately searching for a replacement. Not finding anyone "good," Ken was forced to swallow his pride and reluctantly ask Paul to step up to the mike.
The results can be found here. Lengthy discussions of Brian Blessed, hand ledges, angry kids’ show hosts, and terrible impressions shall be found within. Click on over and give a listen to Ken and Not-Dana.
The title above begs the question: is there a "Part II"? Stay tuned…
We can officially announce that we’re taking part in this year’s Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony on October 2nd. We’ll be doing a short pre-ceremony concert. There will be geeks aplenty, and more than a few actual Nobel Laureates in attendance. In case you can’t make it, the ceremony will be recorded and rebroadcast on November 28th on NPR’s Talk of the Nation/ Science Friday with Ira Flatow. So there’s that.
Here’s a very nice review on Popshifter of our show a few weeks back in Toronto with Jonathan Coulton, which has some sweet things to say about his opening act*.
Completely unrelated to either of the above, an old and dear friend of ours, Mike Mendyke, is in a barbershop quartet with Dick Van Dyke. Yes, that Dick Van Dyke. Anyway, the group is called Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix, and they have a brand new CD out featuring children’s songs. We mention this fact because a) we used to sing a cappella, so this speaks to us where we live; and b) Dick Van Dyke is completely awesome.
*us!
Just wanted to announce that we are officially going to the UK in late October as part of Jonathan Coulton‘s "The Geeks Are Alright" Tour*. Tickets for Manchester and London are on sale already; a show in Oxford will be forthcoming, as well as a probable Nottingham date. Check the schedule for full details.
Huzzah! Bob‘s your uncle! Treacle tart and fuzzlecakes for all!
*not the official name for the tour.
