109: Rhymes With Picard, feat. Greg Nog

October 8, 2015 6:49 PM

For this episode, Jessamyn and I are joined by none other than Greg Nog, who chats about cats and puppets and moving from one city with "louis" in the name to another, plus lots of great MetaFilter stuff. We cover September 9th through October 8th, all in a shockingly lean hour and three quarters.

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Misc
- The Timezones of Indiana
- The mysteries of CIX, LIM and FAP
- Paleo, paleo, paleocats hooooooooooooo!
- That terrible old Chevy ad pitch
- Brad Graham bench
- Nintendo World Championships 3-in-1 carts
- jessamyn should totally watch I Know That Voice because she has Netflix now
- some VT beer
- some Kentucky beer

Greg Nog facts
- he is a puppet man
- pretty solid beard situation
- you can twitter on him
- he makes a delightful show called Lil Friendys

Jobs
- throw something in an active volcano
- character/airship art for an indie game
- jessamyn already got someone to transcribe a thing so tough luck, buddy

Projects
- Instrumental doom metal album by DoOoM, by gwint (MeFi post, rad metal art)
- New non-gross gaming-centric ad network Eudaimoneers, by stavrosthewonderchicken
- Twitter bots 4 momz, a trio of bots by Metroid Baby (MeFi post)
- typewritten-in-person 10 cent stories, by Archibald Edmund Binns (MeFi post)
- olduse.net, a 30-year-hence real-time USENET replay by joeyh

MetaFilter
- on trying and failing to trademark "NO FUCKS GIVEN"
- that terrible Peeple thing
- also that whole Victorian cosplay-as-lifestyle thing
- Hurfy 15th Burfdurf, everlasting blort
- Yoann Hervo's Weird Simpsons
- K-Mart in-store mix-tape (which is now also a funeral home mixtape)
- Enterprise D VR construction project
- Happy Birthday unshackled
- Rhaomi's Key and Peele megapost
- the end of the library catelog card
- Women in animation
- Singles, by Rebecca Sugar

Ask MetaFilter
- What was your day like on September 15th, 1985?
- Help me sound like Linda Belcher
- What should I put in my bottles?
- backpack campin' hacks
- if this didn't kill me, your pom juice is fine
- looking for sexually-charged body horror and such
- going back to school as an older student
- help me understand US weather patterns
- Greg Not hungers for podcast about ancient history
- help identify the computer in my childhood picture (spoiler: it was identified)
- old-fashioned letter duplication methods

Music
Hey, so that September 15th, 1985 question up above? It got a bunch of great answers, including one from jan murray, who mentions in passing that some music he recorded around then is on MetaFilter Music. Including a number of tunes, starting with this one, recorded in Sweden in 1984 to cassette tape by Jan and co, which tape he subsequently found in a woodshed a quarter of a century later. Really great stuff, and he's been recording stuff since then as well.

The jan murray tracks sampled this episode:
- For a' that
- Teenagery
- Days of Strong Light
- Sister in teh USA

FanFare
- the FanFare Watercooler continues to be a handy way to see what people are talking about
- which includes Hannibal, of which a gigaaaantic season finale thread
- of which Greg Nog also does rad puppet Hannibal recaps in Hamibal
- Also: British bake-offs? Pretty great, IMHO.

MetaTalk
- Folks saying nice things about other folks is pretty nice
- Let's get together and make Super Mario Maker levels
- Hell froze over, we're testing 'save draft' functionality for posts

posted by cortex (staff) to MeFi Podcast at 6:49 PM (83 comments total)

Now I can't fix it. You've brought this on yourself.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:00 PM on October 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

That was a hell of a cold open. I will now listen to the other hour and 41 minutes.
posted by gwint at 7:10 PM on October 8, 2015

Hell froze over, we're testing 'save draft' functionality for posts

*dancing banana emoticon*

you know which one I'm talking about
posted by SpacemanStix at 7:11 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Greg Nog is Best Nog
posted by The Whelk at 7:14 PM on October 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

The gigantic Hannibal thread just turned into and then spawned a second fanfic workshoping, reccing, and discussion thread and it's been one of the most consistent and productive writing workshop things I've been in and I don't know how to feel about that
posted by The Whelk at 7:17 PM on October 8, 2015

Greg Erskine? OF THE ERSKINE CUP?
posted by shakespeherian at 7:32 PM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]

We got a third cat, first because, duh three is better than two, but also because cats are lovely companions when you move to a new place and don't know anyone. and also she is V TINY.
posted by likeatoaster at 7:34 PM on October 8, 2015 [4 favorites]

Destructive and constructive interference aren't only limited to physics, music (more physics) and cortex/Josh's religious upbringing- they also happen in ocean waves and earthquake waves!
posted by Secretariat at 7:49 PM on October 8, 2015

Also the presence of a tiny cat is making one of your cats larger and more muscular. Get more kittens and raise your own tiger in short time.
posted by The Whelk at 7:50 PM on October 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

"you know, of the Vermont Erskines?"
posted by boo_radley at 8:28 PM on October 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

And the DoOom Album Reminds Me of the Poem Dialogue Between Fashion and Death.
posted by boo_radley at 8:52 PM on October 8, 2015

Thanks for the Project mention, folks!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:33 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

And you-day-mon-eers, cortex-stylee, is totally a valid way to say it (you know, in English) if that's the way you roll, just not the one I use.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:07 PM on October 8, 2015

I'm just about to show up on olduse.net
posted by pjern at 10:11 PM on October 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Wow, I can't believe Greg stayed in character the whole time. Truly he is devoted to his craft. Bravo, sir.
posted by griphus at 4:13 AM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Whoa! Greg Nog! He's a top-ranked guy! Now tempted to go back to my desk so I can listen even though I hate being at my desk
posted by ignignokt at 5:35 AM on October 9, 2015

Wow, I can't believe Greg stayed in character the whole time.

I don't even know how he does that goofy accent.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:41 AM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

One listened to the entire podcast while dining this morn, and concluded that Mr Nog of the Western Colonies sounded a most splendid and agreeable gentleman.
posted by Wordshore at 5:55 AM on October 9, 2015

I'll have to listen to this one, but I do hope a certain photo op was mentioned.
posted by Kitteh at 6:42 AM on October 9, 2015

I can't tell yet, Kitteh, because I'm flipping around trying to find where Cannibal Club gets talked about so I can listen to that first. But while doing said flipping I just got an out of context clip of Jessamyn saying something about violating a cantaloupe carnally, and that was totally worth however long it takes me to find the actual part I'm listening for. (Actually, I'm surprised that carnal cantaloupe talk isn't the Hannibal section of the podcast but apparently it's not?)
posted by Stacey at 7:04 AM on October 9, 2015

Okay, from what I can tell it's not there, so for the curious: Kitteh played MeFi ambassador to Gillian Anderson and Mads Mikkelsen and got her picture taken and it was awesome.
posted by Stacey at 7:25 AM on October 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

I like how Jess brought "heavens to betsy" right back at you and made it sound like she was saying "the fuck you say".

Kitteh played MeFi ambassador to Gillian Anderson and Mads Mikkelsen

Oh my gosh, I completely missed that. That's awesome.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:26 AM on October 9, 2015

I mean, there are only 1577 posts in that thread. I can't imagine how you missed one!
posted by Stacey at 7:27 AM on October 9, 2015

I haven't read the thread thread proper yet because I'm still finishing up season 3!
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:28 AM on October 9, 2015

Thanks for the shoutout and the kind words. I especially enjoyed the awkward silence after Jessamyn mentioned she'd been in my bathroom.
posted by bondcliff at 7:37 AM on October 9, 2015

I will never get Greyg Nog out of my head now.
posted by pharm at 8:24 AM on October 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

I especially enjoyed the awkward silence after Jessamyn mentioned she'd been in my bathroom.

Huh?? It is my understanding that "Bathroom Inspection by MetaFilter Moderator" is one of the mandatory steps in MetaFilter membership approval, in addition to the $5 fee, 24 hour post waiting and the rest. If it is not, then I formally request the return of my bathrobe, rubber duck and tea-scented soap back, Mr Howie. Good Day, Sir.
posted by Wordshore at 8:31 AM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

I especially enjoyed the awkward silence after Jessamyn mentioned she'd been in my bathroom.

Seriously! Like the reason couldn't have just been "Because we are friends and I was visiting and during the course of that visit I wanted to make use of the facilities...."

No returns on tea-scented soap, however.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 8:59 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

I was awkwardly silent during that bit because I was wrestling with whether and how to make a predictable joke about standing vs. sitting and then decided against.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:10 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

But that goes against the entire theme of the podcast of Living Inside Cortex's Head While He Puts Together Jokes
posted by shakespeherian at 9:12 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

I did appreciate the "because they're from the same vat" joke.
posted by bondcliff at 9:28 AM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Before I listen, does this have Bake-Off spoilers and also I guess Hannibal spoilers? I am primarily concerned about Bake-Off spoilers because I didn't realize it was bake-off time until I saw the thread on the blue that said it had ended, so I am way way behind on it.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 9:48 AM on October 9, 2015

There are no spoilers for either, though it's possible I make passing reference to the fact that Hannibal is a person who eats other people. I am still catching up on Bake-Off and am mostly just happy that someone else was on the clock when that spoilery finale post went up on the blue and apparently needed editing accordingly.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:51 AM on October 9, 2015

Hey cool, thanks. [Obligatory whaaaaat mock-surprise at Hannibal reveal]

p.s. Draygon
posted by knuckle tattoos at 9:58 AM on October 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Cortex, STAAAAHP.
posted by ursus_comiter at 10:19 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

This Hannibal Lecter character eats people? Man, they really missed a trick naming him - they could have called him "Peter" - the human being Eater! Ha ha ha! No but seriously, nothing rhymes with "Lecter", does it? Well ... "Projector", I guess. But that doesn't fit his defining characteristic. "Hannibal Lecter - he once ate a projector" That would be a completely different show. No, they really made a mistake there, I think.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:28 AM on October 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

Thomas Harris was originally going to name the character Trudy the Foodie but an editor got involved and here we are.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:30 AM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Puppets.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:47 AM on October 9, 2015

Chester the Digester
posted by Kabanos at 10:48 AM on October 9, 2015 [7 favorites]

ursus_comiter, I think you mean STAAAAYYP.
posted by boo_radley at 11:06 AM on October 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

I am loving this. I kind of want to catch up on all the other podcasts, but I suspect that is a hole from which I will never emerge.
posted by corb at 11:12 AM on October 9, 2015

Trudy the Foodie

I heard it was Hedda Gobbler.
posted by biffa at 11:20 AM on October 9, 2015 [6 favorites]

Lecter the Perfecter
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:37 AM on October 9, 2015

Honeydew? it has no flavor, it's just absorbs the flavor from the cantaloupe it's inevitably served with. Watermelon, on the other hand, is indeed the best melon.
posted by zinon at 11:48 AM on October 9, 2015

Whoa, new laid back podcast theme!
posted by ignignokt at 12:07 PM on October 9, 2015

It irritates me so much that Greg Nog is actually funny and I have to like him, ugh.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 12:15 PM on October 9, 2015

a total stranger who no one here has ever met or heard of and who definitely does not often make the same faces as his puppets and might not even realize it
posted by poffin boffin at 12:40 PM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Whoa, new laid back podcast theme!

Yeah, I have been sitting on a variation of that for a few years now and never really got it into shape; this version is a little more laid back, and too low a key, for what I reaaaaally had in mind but I've been trying to mix it up a little and so I just threw it together yesterday to be like, consarnit, this is gonna happen. May rerecord it a few steps up.

I also have liked for a long time the idea of a MeFi Music podcast theme challenge/collaboration: let other people make short podcast jingles and then rotate through 'em, something like that.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:51 PM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oooh boy, I made the podcast!

Lives in Kentucky Greg reminds me of those commercials for action figure lines where there's only, like, one hero, so they have to sell eighty different variations of the same character with different gimmicks:

BATMAN: I'm Action-Arm Batman! I can defeat villains with my Automatic Action Punch!
JOKER: You can't defeat me, Batman! I have ultra Joker missiles! (shoots plastic missile into wall of plastic blocks, which crush Batman)
BATMAN: But now I'm a different Batman! I'm Lives in Kentucky Batman! I will crush you with my Ultra Kentucky Accent!
(a bunch of spiders and/or spatters swarm over the Joker)
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:09 PM on October 9, 2015 [7 favorites]

distill my beating heart
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:29 PM on October 9, 2015 [11 favorites]

These guys also discussed honeydew vs. cantaloupe.
posted by ignignokt at 1:33 PM on October 9, 2015

Podcast theme is eventually just going to be cortex covering Sunn 0))) with a ukelele somehow
posted by griphus at 1:38 PM on October 9, 2015 [6 favorites]

I say this as a sincerely devoted podcast listener and all around fan:

cortex, maybe you should refrain from drinking a bunch of coffee right before recording.
posted by quaking fajita at 1:39 PM on October 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Podcast theme is eventually just going to be cortex covering Sunn 0))) with a ukelele somehow

Never got around to listening to them before now, just sort of randomly looked this up. It reminds me of those Sounds of $NATURAL_THING albums, only it's, like, Sounds of a Slayer Sound Check.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 4:43 PM on October 9, 2015 [3 favorites]

To Boldly Mod.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:15 PM on October 9, 2015

Also: The Jessamyn Interview
posted by Going To Maine at 6:25 PM on October 9, 2015

To Modley bowl were no bowl has been turned before.

-Jo'hann, Tellurite wood turner.
posted by clavdivs at 7:12 PM on October 9, 2015

We are making/prepping pies for tomorrow's pie vs cake meetup and listening to the podcast. And drinking bourbon out of mysterious whisk(e)y glasses that mysteriously arrived in the mail without us ordering them. Many great tastes that taste great together!
posted by rtha at 8:43 PM on October 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Don't dignify that with an answer, Greg. Let him learn.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:41 PM on October 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

I will never get Greyg Nog out of my head now.

He was already there. Turn your gaze within and you will find Greg Nog staring back at you. We are all just puppets on his strings.
posted by homunculus at 11:09 AM on October 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

OMG, a podcast citation for the blort -- thanks so much! To have blort on the blue was a big effin deal (thanks again, not_on_display) but to make the podcast, too? That's a real kick, my mefi cup runneth over.

Thank you for the kind words - it really means a lot to get hugs from mefites.
posted by madamjujujive at 3:01 PM on October 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

This tweet.

(I will pass along thanks to n_o_d, mjjj)
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 6:09 PM on October 10, 2015 [6 favorites]

Are you related to the John Erskine who trains draft horses outside of Sequim, WA? If so, thank him for the ~300 pounds of potatoes he brought me that one time.
posted by stet at 7:12 PM on October 10, 2015

That book referenced by Jessamyn and cortex is How Not to Be Wrong by mefi's own escabeche. It probably no longer has a small, unimportant typo. We had a fun meetup last year- here's a post-Powells-book-reading, pre-Tugboat-beers picture.
posted by Secretariat at 7:18 PM on October 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

I have multiple tech issues delaying the start of the transcript. I'm working on them.
posted by Pronoiac at 9:32 AM on October 11, 2015

Thank you for the podcast citation for the OCLC catalog card FPP. #UseYourLocalLibrary
posted by Wordshore at 9:34 AM on October 11, 2015

Honeydew and cantaloupe are separately and collectively known as garbage melon. By me. The idea of a fruit cup at breakfast is a wonderful thing, but the reality is too often garbage melon.
posted by Squeak Attack at 7:52 AM on October 12, 2015

>Greg Erskine? OF THE ERSKINE CUP?
So shakespeherian, pray tell what you know of such things? Are you an NCYC sailor, perchance?
posted by DesbaratsDays at 9:10 AM on October 13, 2015

Damn it. I guess I was right.
posted by josher71 at 11:02 AM on October 13, 2015

By the way, why are we not talking about the fact that Greg Nog, at one point in the podcast, actually said "eff pee pee" instead of "front page post"?

Just struck me as weird, is all I'm saying.

It's probably not worth its own MeTa but I felt someone needed to bring it up.
posted by bondcliff at 11:47 AM on October 14, 2015

I say "eff pee pee" a lot too, proportional to the number of times I need to actually pronounce FPP. Which isn't often, now that I think about it. I guess what I do is think "eff pee pee".
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:13 PM on October 14, 2015

It goes the other way too. I met a guy once who pronounced URL like "Earl."
posted by bondcliff at 12:17 PM on October 14, 2015

It goes the other way too. I met a guy once who pronounced URL like "Earl."

That's useful data in my lifelong quest to discover why Americans say/mangle the word "Herbs" as they do.
posted by Wordshore at 12:22 PM on October 14, 2015

IT'S NOT "URBS".
posted by Wordshore at 12:22 PM on October 14, 2015

Did anyone else say "dub dub dub" for "www" back when that was a useful part of an earl?
posted by griphus at 12:37 PM on October 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Did anyone else say "dub dub dub" for "www" back when that was a useful part of an earl?

I say it in class now just to annoy my students. How are you supposed to say FPP, like this?
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 12:48 PM on October 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

I had only ever considered FPP was a thing you typed because it was easier than typing out "front page post." It just felt odd to hear him saying it out loud. It was like hearing someone say "ell-oh-ell" instead of actually laughing.
posted by bondcliff at 1:02 PM on October 14, 2015

IT'S NOT "URBS".

Americans are merely respecting the Original Intent: appeared 1250-1300; Middle English herbe < Old French erbe, herbe < Latin herba

also, commas always go inside the quotes, including Oxford commas, which are unnecessary
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:22 PM on October 14, 2015

and by comma I mean period. except for the Oxford comma. dammit.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:53 PM on October 14, 2015

Blasphemy.
posted by Wordshore at 2:56 PM on October 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I say “eff pee pee” a lot too, proportional to the number of times I need to actually pronounce FPP. Which isn't often, now that I think about it. I guess what I do is think “eff pee pee”

I, too, hate number one.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:03 PM on October 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

I say this as a sincerely devoted podcast listener and all around fan:
Cortex, if I had the money or were close enough I would personally deliver coffee to you before every podcast. And maybe an energy drink too.

jessamyn: yeah that picture is how I've been pronouncing it the whole time. At least the fighty threads.



Steven Universe is sorta mentioned at the end. For those unaware it's the cutest and (mega super spoilers in this video) gayest in a literal sense cartoon in all the world. Gems ('genderless' but so far all female presenting) can fuse into giant women (giant women!) if they do a sexy dance together, and most episodes are about values like autonomy, informed consent (more spoilers), and basic empathy. I love it but I think it just went into hiatus for several months : (
I think I fell into a rebecca sugar youtube hole please don't send help I'm good here.
posted by sandswipe at 7:56 PM on October 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

the entire theme of the podcast of Living Inside Cortex's Head While He Puts Together Jokes

When Olive's original name comes up, you can almost hear him flipping through his mental rolodex of Alanis Morissette song titles.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:41 PM on October 19, 2015