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Sep 2, 2009


The Show Notes

Mystery Artist
Intro
Giving blood
Geo London E-Bay Offer
Ask George

- Sucking?  from Daniel
DRAGON*CON
- think of a good question
- LIVE event vs. recording
Religious Moron of the Week
- Phillip Craig Garrido  from Chuck Donches
Something from apxitekt
Nice PFA footage on YouTube
See you this weekend
Show close

.....................................

Mentioned in the show: Philadelphia Funk Authority at the Margate concert; the Star Party; updated Upcoming Gigs page at Geologic Records [including Dragon*Con]; Dragon*Con Podcast track; Dragon*Con Skeptic track.


Sign up for the mailing list: Write to Geo!

Score more data from the Geologic Universe! Get George's music at CD Baby and iTunes, and Non-Coloring Book at Lulu, both as download and print editions.

Have a comment on the show, a Religious Moron tip, or a question for Ask George? Drop George a line and write to Geo's Mom, too!

Ms. Information says Dragon*Khhhhaaahhhhnnnn! [©2009 Swoopy]


Brian\"NoE\"Mahony
fourteen and a half years ago

i can play a few things...usually on the last string....i got fat fingers :)

Podblack
almost fourteen years ago

This particular story stuck with me, because I thought it was USA only. But after talking about it with Derek Colanduno on Facebook, I discovered that blood donation by gay men is not just verboten in the USA. :(
Now, it looks like this utterly bonkers restriction will be reviewed:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/13/2871596.htm

Glenn Barlis
fourteen and a half years ago

Thanks for solving my mystery artist. I ordered the \\\"Bojangles\\\" album by JJW from Amazon

re: the Beatles - my daughter and I danced to \\\"In My Life\\\" at her wedding as the Father-Daughter dance

Jessica
fourteen and a half years ago

@Carriep, re: Day Tripper guitar line -- oh my gosh, same here! Pretty much the only thing I learned before I gave up on learning guitar, sadly.

Brian\\\"NoE\\\"Mahony
fourteen and a half years ago

@Marvin


wow....that shut me the fuck up


well put sir

Brian\"NoE\"Mahony
fourteen and a half years ago

well i guess if you\'re INNUNDATED with it i can see how it can annoy the shit outta anyone

my dad listened to them, but he didn\'t listen to them CONSTANTLy so maybe that\'s why i like em so much because the people around me appreicated the music as well as every other song from the 60s. for a birthday present one year my dad got me a 3 cd set of the greatest his from the 60s...and i LOVED it!

i guess one\'s musical tastes are in part influenced by your environment

Marvin
fourteen and a half years ago

@CarrieP -- True, true. Twice as true if you try to play the Beatles.

@Brian -- No shutting-up was intended, and now I\'m wincing at my own strident...stridenty bits. Because I\'m an obstreperous and contrary cranky-pants you should probably take me with a grain of salt. A sensible person would look past the attitudes of other fans and just focus on the music from the start, after all.

Marvin
fourteen and a half years ago

@Brian

The most obvious reason for not liking the Beatles is that one has been force-fed the Beatles for decades by friends and relations and media personalities who refuse to shut up about the Beatles and who respond in all-caps whenever somebody questions the Greatness of The Beatles.

In short, one can hate the Beatles strictly from claustrophobia induced by Beatles-bots; and because rock music is never just about the music, I think that\'s perfectly valid. I never really *hated* the Beatles, but for a long time I simply didn\'t want anything to do with them, and I enjoyed winding up the faithful with my disdain.

It wasn\'t until I was 30 that I learned to appreciate them as something more than ubiquitous pop-culture wallpaper, and that only happened because I was sick and bored for a couple of weeks and decided to listen to their whole studio discography to see what I\'d been missing (not much, really, since I\'d heard most of it before, but now I was listening with different ears). And I discovered that I liked some bits and didn\'t like other bits, and I\'m happy to give credit where its due because I\'ve learned to listen to them as a band and not as an obligatory icon.

So one thing I\'m really curious about is, when somebody says \"The Beatles suck,\" are they talking about the music, or are they taking about the shape of a certain kind of space the band now occupies in our culture and our memory? If they\'re talking about the music, then they\'re probably just ignorant (or innocent -- let\'s not pretend there aren\'t whole universes of music worth exploring that aren\'t the Beatles). But if they\'re talking about the cultural space, then they might be on to something. Even Lennon thought the Beatles sucked in *that* sense.

Peter Sosna
fourteen and a half years ago

Hey, I like the Loving Spoonful! I saw the very last concert they did before Zal Yanovsky left the band.

A number of years later I got to meet John Sebastian and he let me play the gold Les Paul that he used to record Daydeam.

Brian\"No E\"Mahony
fourteen and a half years ago

WHAT!?!??!?

with all due respect to daniel....HIS FRIEND IS BATSHIT CRAZY

i..i..WHAT!?!?!?!?

HOW.CAN YOU.NOT.LIKE THE BEATLES???

i can\'t wrap my little monkey brain around the concept...you\'d be throwing 50+ years of musical history under the bus by saying the beatles suck

Dale Hawkins
fourteen and a half years ago

Another great show! Keep \\\'em coming you adoration addicted b@stard! :-)

No, seriously the email from apxitekt was pretty unbelievable and I found it to be quite offensive (not that I care about being offended, but it made me angry enough to write).

I can\\\'t vouch for his views about Geo\\\'s addictions, but as a person with a scientific background, I can assure you, I don\\\'t know Jack. There have never been more scientists plying their trade and there has never been more of need for more quality scientists (and engineers).

Second, I have been doing my share to minimize my effects on the environment; reducing driving, recycling, reducing consumption, volunteering for various environmental causes, etc. I don\\\'t see how the assertion that atheists somehow care less about the environment. This might be one of the few issues where I agreed with the cause of a nominally religious group which was promoting protecting god\\\'s creation (right cause, wrong reason).

Oh well. Enough ranting today. Back to housework and raising my wonderfully bright, and unindoctrinated kids.

Podblack
fourteen and a half years ago

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=146836131904&ref=mf - George Hrab on the Skeptic Zone.

David P.
fourteen and a half years ago

Ignore my previous link about stickam. The official streaming link changed while I was posting. The livestream one that Geo posted is now the official one, and it appears to be much higher quality than the stickam one.

Lauren Cocilova
fourteen and a half years ago

I wonder if different Red Cross locations measure iron levels differently... Because 47 is DAMN high compared to where I am. So, you totally win there.
I tried to donate blood a couple of weeks ago and they told me my iron had to be at 12.5 to donate and sadly I was at 12.3 when they stuck me the first time and 11.9 the second time. And this was after two weeks of binging on steak and cheerios and raisins and whatnot. I\\\'ve only been able to donate twice in my life -mostly because I was deferred for a while with the Mad Cow scare, but lately because of low iron. They\\\'re not allowed to take your blood if it\\\'ll make you anemic, I guess. Boo. Maybe next time...

Also, I think there\\\'s a difference between recognizing the greatness and ingeniousness of the Beatles and liking them. Because I recognize that they were innovative and important and all that, but I\\\'m just not that moved by their stuff. There are some songs that I like, but overall I\\\'m \\\"meh\\\" about them. I don\\\'t think that they \\\"suck,\\\" though, and I do realize that music as we know it would not be known were it not for specific bands such as the Beatles.

Thanks for the show!!

GregB
fourteen and a half years ago

My Gosh Geo, the email from apxitekt was a monument to stupid. In addition to all the great points you made we should also realize that while yes, science doesn\\\'t know everything the alternative, religion, claims to ALREADY know everything because their God told them so. Which one of those two positions is the definition of arrogance?

His last statement about the environmental effect of people not being religious is so full of fallacies that it boggles the mind. First of all, it assumes that the only basis for morality is authority. But atheist live by a higher authority. We get our morals by having empathy for other human beings. Therefore, we don\\\'t want to trash the planet because this wonderful, beautiful planet is all we have and trashing it would harm our fellow humans. His argument is just an extension of the \\\"atheist have no morals because they don\\\'t live in fear of hell\\\" fallacy.

In fact, I\\\'ve had several Christians tell me that we don\\\'t need to protect the environment because Jesus will call us all back during the rapture and they\\\'re convinced that the rapture will happen in our lifetime. Imagine the environmental effect if a large percentage of people hold that point of view.


Nicole
fourteen and a half years ago

Ditto on the blood donation thing. Except in Virginia they have an automated machine ask all the questions. Same ones! The nurses told me they\\\'ve gotten shorter. They used to ask all kinds of questions about bestiality. The worst part was, they had people who answered \\\"yes\\\" who were very proud of their exploits and then proceeded to tell the nurses all about them. Yikes.

Anyway, I gave whole blood, a whole pint in 6 minutes. Though I already had the appointment set for that, the other guy who was donating convinced me to do platelets next time, and I think I will!

I had other thoughts, but I just got to my hotel and AAAAH DRAGON*KHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!

David P.
fourteen and a half years ago

Today, I saw it announced that the Skeptrack at Dragon*Con will be video streamed live at http://stickam.com/skeptrack . I assume that means it could be recorded. I didn\\\'t make it to the most recent TAM, and I was very happy that I could watch Geo\\\'s songs from the Periodic Table on the streaming feed live. Those fans who can\\\'t be at Dragon*Con will appreciate having the live feed.

Maybe the auctioned Geo concert in London could be the private non-recorded event to make it extra special, complete with the vibrating air thing.

See you at D*C!



Marvin
fourteen and a half years ago

Re: Livestream - Woo hoo indeed!

Re: The pros and cons of recording everything -- The question makes me want to Ask George: Now that the ability to record and transmit public and private moments and performances is universal and affordable, how does that shape the concept of an artist\'s body of work? We\'re all familiar with the idea of a studio becoming an instrument in a band\'s repertoire when making an album -- think of the Beatles or Queen -- but what happens when the world can be a studio for an artist\'s whole performing life? Do you worry more about the shape of the overall arc of a life in art as it\'s recorded, or do you still focus more on the right thing for a given moment and let the big-picture chips fry where they may (with salt and vinegar, please)?

Debbie
fourteen and a half years ago

I blogged my feelings about that moron a few days ago. Pretty much along the same lines as you though I might be harsher.

Regarding the live/recording question: you must admit very few people get to attend live performances, especially (far/expensive) events like TAM. Of course there\\\'s nothing like live! How many \\\"live\\\" albums/CDs do you own? But it\\\'s not fair to those who can\\\'t be there to deny recording. For instance, I can\\\'t make it to D*C this year and although you won\\\'t be able to throw me over your shoulder (now that was a fun show) I still want the chance to hear any performing you do.

Have fun, MsInformation and Geo!

sidfaiwu
fourteen and a half years ago

I was at your live event at Balticon 43 and I listened to the recording later. I don\\\'t think that any of the specialness of the live event was in any way diminished in any way by the fact that it was recorded. Of course, listening to the recording wasn\\\'t as special as the live event but giving non-attendees a less special show is better than none at all.

George Hrab
fourteen and a half years ago

All right kids... for those non Atlantanians- here ya go. There will at LEAST be access to this:

http://www.livestream.com/skeptics

Saturday 10:00 pm. Woo and hoo.

Be safe!

Geo

George Hrab
fourteen and a half years ago

Ding, ding, and ding.

We have TWO winners. I wasn\\\'t clear in the show about leaving a comment or e-mailing, so the first comment above by Tom Elliot, and the 1st e-mail from Brian \\\"no E\\\" are the winners. Well done kids.

Get in touch and get yer prize.

Geo

Keisha
fourteen and a half years ago

GEO! U R AWESOME! AND I\\\'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT TO FILL THE DEEP WELL THAT IS YOUR EGO! I REALLY REALLY REALLY DO LIKE THE SONG \\\"FOR THIS YOU WENT TO COLLEGE?\\\"

As far as recording goes: I would say go half-and-half. I agree with the idea of a unique and specific experience with just the artist and the audience. I would be sad that I couldn\\\'t be there and wouldn\\\'t ever be able to hear audio or see video of the interaction, but I have had an experience with you that no other person has ever had (yet), and I deeply treasure the uniqueness of it. Like Carrie P., I, too, would be disappointed if you completely stopped recording all of your live performances, but in certain circumstances I could see where you would want what happens in a place to stay in a place.

posty mcposterton
fourteen and a half years ago

Yay!!

Marvin
fourteen and a half years ago

Ha. This apxitekt guy is a textbook example of the kind of Christian who convinced me I should be an atheist (and not just a wishy-washy religion-sympathizing agnostic). The hollers of the snake-handling fundamentalists didn\'t do it, but the smugness of pseudo-intellectual trolls like this guy? That *totally* did the trick.

And from now on, just to piss off apxitekt, I\'m going to genuflect before listening to the podcast.

Icepick
fourteen and a half years ago

The early bird!

Tom Elliott
fourteen and a half years ago

Here\\\'s the mystery singer!
It\\\'s \\\'The Ballad of the Hulk\\\' by Jerry Jeff Walker.
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/j/jerry-jeff-walker/the/