Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to Sneaky Dragon – the podcast with great legs!
This week: wrong name; mom and dad; Tank’s for the memories; Luann luau; disappearing ink; cameo guesswork; apologies to Troy Aiken; Playboyhood; sex cult party house; the gynecological magazine; Saint Lorne; smug hick; plumbing hi-jinx; poor planning exercise plan; awkward name calling; dads and dudes; Canadian game shows; ¿habla espanol?; inside self-destruction; funnier guy; I’m Doug; cocaine and hookers; getting it; missed connections; only a pawn in their game; my side; Deuteronomy is super important; brother’s fighter; #notmyReacher; biographical pub quiz; Top 5 Louise songs; they’re both knives; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; boozy ice cream; the sad reality of sales tax; childhood thrift; face for the bushes; jes folksy; secret music; gimme six; pleasure deferral; a chile’s garden; too much guitar; and, finally, an aural enema.
Top 5 Louise Songs:
- Ian Gomm – Louise – The Village Voice, 1983 – 2:02:18
- The Raymarks – Louise – Jerden Records 45 b/w “Dollar Bill”, 1965 – 2:09:48
- Consortium – To Please Louise – Looking Back: The Pye Anthology, 2021 – 2:14:49
- The Hollies – Louise – Russian Roulette, 1976 – 2:20:52
- The Man from Delmonte – (Will Nobody Save) Louise? – Catholic Boys on Mobilettes, 1990 – 2:26:14
Question of the Week: What was the last thing you yelled at the podcast?
Sub-question of the Week (from Brent): If you could live in any other country, where would you live?
Thanks for listening.
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I’ll just answer question #2, which would be either Scotland, up in the north – maybe Orkney, or else second place goes to New Zealand, which I have never been to, but my Dad’s sister, father, and grandfather were all born there, and I grew up with lots of stories about NZ and our house was adorned with many paintings of various places in NZ. Either would be good, I think.
Hiya fellas – and sneakers everywhere!
I wouldn’t say I ‘yell’ at Sneaky Dragon, exactly. Most of my yelling these days is reserved for good, old fashioned broadcast news. I don’t know if you’ve been following British current affairs lately but, believe me, it’s the only sane response.
True, I will occasionally attempt to answer a few quiz questions on the show, or chip in with words of friendly encouragement on those rare occasions when a particular mot juste or bit of mindless trivia is proving elusive.
So it was that, this week, having restrained myself several times during Dave’s tale of bathroom misadventures, I finally gave in and said aloud the single word: ‘STOPCOCK!’ And, boy, am I glad there was no-one around to hear me.
I taught English in the Basque Country of northern Spain in my twenties, and would happily live there again. Both Diane and I are also greatly attracted to India and it would be very interesting to immerse ourselves in that amazing culture (or blend of cultures). Coolest of all, though, would be to spend a few years on a small boat, visiting here and there, then upping anchor and sailing off to wherever the mood might take us. I’m sure the reality would be a lot more challenging than the way I picture it, but a guy can dream…
Classic show this week, folks – kept me entertained from start to finish and frequently laughing out loud. Still loving these top fives too. I don’t remember if you’ve done food songs already, Dave? If not, that might be fun.
Thank you, Dave, for the birthday playlist! I especially enjoyed the Beach Boyish sound of Consortium’s song. I couldn’t quite make out the lyrics, but luckily songwriter Geoff Simpson posted them along with a video montage of band photos on his YouTube channel. There is lots of groovy and cosmic imagery such as “Just to please Louise/I would buy the breeze that’s cooling her mind.” The Raymarks’ song got me wondering if the singer could do all those rock screams without damaging his voice. That could be discussed on the Hoarse Mysteries podcast you were speaking of.
Last thing I yelled (mentally) at the podcast? “Joan Fontaine!” The Orson Wells Jane Eyre movie is an interesting slice of film history. I don’t advise watching it if you’re trying to pass a Victorian Literature exam as the story is highly abridged. But it was shot in a German Expressionist cinematic style so it’s visually striking and has a tempestuous score by Bernard Herrmann (of Psycho fame). Wells’ Sturm und Drang acting approach to Rochester suits the genre but for me, he just doesn’t look the part. He also performed radio plays based on the book, so maybe he should’ve stopped there.
BTW, I’m loving Murderville on Netflix with Will Arnett as a homicide detective who gets a “new partner” each episode. The partners are guest stars who play themselves. They don’t get a script and have to improvise as they collect evidence and interview suspects. Kumail Nanjiani is my favourite so far. You can tell he took the job of coming up with comedy material on the fly seriously. As the audience, you can play along and see if you can solve the crime given the same clues as the guest.
Hi gents,
I don’t tend to yell at Podcasts too much. I’m more likely to be heard laughing out loud, usually while walking the dog and listening to you guys.
Growing up in Australia climatises you to warm winters to such an extent that everywhere else in the world seems positively Arctic by comparison, so it is hard to imagine living anywhere else. But if I had to choose anywhere, Canada seems to share a sensibility of character and a love of vast outdoor spaces; England is imprinted on me from years of watching Dr Who and the Goodies and listening to the Beatles. I would like to live there, but I’d be disappointed if there weren’t daleks chasing the fab four around the streets. Italy would be amazing but I would expect everyone to be on Vespas and driving tiny Fiats. New Zealand, which I have visited many times, would also be wonderful but for the swarming orc armies.
In all, I think that the dream of living in a different country is probably more romantic than the reality, possibly due to our perceptions being mainly based on movies and books.
On your discussion of THE GOONIES, this was one of those films which is deeply flawed, but which imprinted heavily on the ‘VHS’ generation like me. I was twelve when it came out and though all my friends were more into 80’s shoot-em-up-action movies with Stallone, Arnie etc, there is a sense of choatic whimsy and irreverence in The Goonies which continues to resonate. Yes, the cast all talk over each other, the special effects are dated and there are some jarringly 80’s jokes (like when Corey Feldman translates for the Spanish housekeeper, telling her about where the family keep their sex toys and torture devices), but it has a charm that has led to endless imitations ever since. See Stranger Things etc.
During the height of Covid, the cast did an anniversary script reading on Facebook Live for charity with Elizabeth Banks filling in for the mum. It was a joy.
And I 100% agree regarding Spaceballs. I remember going to see it with a friend when it came out. We were both huge Star Wars fans and we found it kind of, sort of funny, sometimes. Even at the age of 14 I can remember thinking how Mel Brooks had barely scratched the surface of the potential for satirising the Star Wars movies and that the whole movie felt laboured and cumbersome. ‘They shot my hair’ is the best joke.
I am not sure that Mel Brooks has been funny since ‘High Anxiety.’ I saw THE PRODUCERS on Broadway in 2004 and found the ‘humour’ so dated and wooden. For me, the best Star Wars satire has to be the Robot Chicken Star Wars specials. The scene of George Lucas, actually voiced by the real George Lucas, jumping on a Tauntaun to escape over-enthusiastic fans, is genius.
Loving hearing about everyone on the backwards Sneaky Dragon journey, though I think you should officially refer to the practice as NOGARD YKAENS (pronounced ‘Nog-erd Eekeenz.’)
That is all.
Robot Chicken is wonderful Mick, Seth Green knows no limits when it come to his brand of satire…and that’s a good thing.
Before I dive in, thanks to Brent for the info on growing Yacón and enjoying them as a sweet alternative! I should next decide on whether to build a root cellar or book the next flight to the Andes in search of some Yacón. But seriously, I will search for these at my local Sprouts produce store, that’s the best place to start. Side note: I played rhythm guitar for the Jerusalem Artichokes in the late 80’s, we were spectacular!
I notice everyone is being so polite about yelling at you two during your podcasts, I do it so much it’s like sport. Just kidding, it’s all out of love. Just last night I was listening in my car as Ian spoke about the late 70’s Star Wars satire that was so common then. Before Ian could even mention it, I belted out “Richard Pryor! You’ve got to mention the Richard Pryor Cantina sketch!” It was like you heard me Ian because seconds later you brought it up to David. I bought the Richard Pryor DVD set for my Dad years ago and did you know that sketch was the first sketch on his first show? His TV show literally starts with that..and it’s so bizarrely thrown together on a set with all the Rick Baker costumes from the first film. It’s as if they got Pryor coked out of his mind and then dropped him onto this set with all these creatures and let him go, it’s about as good as it gets from that era. I also love the custom neon sign we see at the beginning that simply says, “STAR WARS BAR”, the fact that they actually had that made for the sketch kills me.
And you’re so right Ian! “Free Enterprise” is also a very good satire for the Star Trek side of fandom. I had to buy that DVD to see it and I was very pleased to see Shatner just chew up his scenes in it.
To be completely transparent, I’ve never left the States except for Nassau in the Bahamas and I don’t think that even counts as leaving the country. My wife has travelled all over Europe when she was in college and has a kind of “Wanderlust” when it comes to moving abroad if it comes to that. She’s indecisive and changes her options depending on which travel show she’s just seen. One week it was Japan, a month later it was Hungary, now it’s Portugal. I suggest to her that maybe we should visit these places first and see if we even like it there because quite honestly I’ve never been anywhere like that. My wife is a Texan that actually doesn’t like Texas very much and the World is calling her to go see it all. I might be up to seeing Hungary, the gypsy blood in me is calling me home.
About that Playboy Mansion in Chicago. My Dad wasn’t fortunate enough to go there but he did visit the famous Playboy Club on Walton Street in Chicago sometime in the mid 60’s. Dad took the Northwestern train into Chicago for work from where we lived in the suburbs. If he didn’t get on that last train out he’d have to call my Mom to drive downtown to the Playboy Club and pick him up which also meant getting me out of bed as well. The story goes that Dad lost track of time at the club after work that night and realized he had about ten minutes to grab a taxi and get to the Northwestern station before midnight. He ran through the station and made it to the train as it was already in motion heading out! Mom and I got to stay put in our beds avoiding a sleepless night and/or a divorce.
Another great show, guys! Happy belated birthday to Louise!
I found myself shouting out “Hot water heater? Hot water heater? Do you mean a hot water heater?” at this week’s podcast. While listening to Dave talk about his plumbing issues, I was thinking of the last time we had plumbing issues and had to turn off the hot water heater because it was leaking. “Toon in With Me” is the other phrase I found myself shouting at the podcast this week as I was finishing up the episode with Dave and Jason. Sometimes the host of the MeTV cartoon show shares some interesting trivia, such as, the Popeye cartoon “A Dream Walking” being the inspiration for the Donkey Kong video game.
I am content to live where I live, but I do sometimes daydream about living in England. My husband and I watch a lot of British programming, and we often talk about how picturesque England looks. Lately, we’ve been watching a number of shows about the English canal system: Travels by Narrowboat, Cruising the Cut, and now our latest fascination is Great Canal Journeys with Timothy West and his wife Prunella Scales. I think they are an adorable older couple, and I appreciate how open and honest they are about Pru’s memory issues. I find it very relaxing to watch people putter up and down the canals as they film the landscapes and talk about the history. Somehow I don’t think climbing in our fishing boat and filming up and down the Tennessee River would be nearly as charming.
Have a great week!