148: 2019 New Year Call-In Episode

January 8, 2019 11:59 AM

Sheesh, it's a week into the year and I still keep trying to write "2018" on my podcasts. But it's the new year, and Jessamyn and I catch up on what's happened on the big blue linky sea lately. Also occasionally featuring my neighbor's rented wood chipper! But also, more importantly, featuring messages from a whole bunch of MeFites who called in to share well wishes, new year greetings, old year ass-and-screendoorings, and some lovely and heartfelt thoughts about where they are, where we are, and hoping for us all to keep getting there together in the next year.

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If you want to hop straight to the call-in bits to hear each other's voices, I've included them all in two chunks, starting at about 14 minutes in and then again at about 62 minutes in. Thanks so much again to everyone who called in or emailed a recording in; I really love hearing all y'all's voices and being able to share them with the whole community like this.

Specifically, thanks to all these callers: TinyChicken, grumpybear69, hexydexy, ChuraChura, Gray Duck, jgirl, gamera (and Ephorbia), wittgenstein, endotoxin, jillithd, yomimono, Fig, Bella Donna, 80 Cats in a Dog Suit, Eyebrows McGee and Nano McGee, h00py, frimble, KTamas, Johnny Wallflower, bondcliff, Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead, pernoctalian, plinth, rmd1023, rangefinder 1.4, kimberussel, Songdog, and ocherdraco.

(As always, any error in the ordering, spelling, or omission in the above list is my fault; lemme know if I goofed and I'll update the list accordingly.)

Misc
- nothing in Psalm 148 says a dog can't play basketball
- Leaf Blower by Asylum Street Spankers
- Jess's neighbor Phil's glass studio
- CLUTTER IS GOOD ACTUALLY
- Jess says: read Manfried Man
- but, also, manfriend dot org, i guess

Jobs
- Funny Freelance greeting card writer! by ferociouskitty
- Senior IT Desktop Field Support (Higher Ed) by BlackPebble

Projects
- Red Square, watercolor and pencil on paper, 6"x6" 12/15/18 by cortex
- J. R. "Bob" Dobbs Memorial Inverse Hessian Multiplication by hleehowon
- WhatCSS: by ph00dz
- Telephone Pictionary, Correspondence Edition by duffell
- News You May Have Missed by joannemerriam
- The Moonlight Sonata but the bass is a bar late and the melody is a bar early by speicus (MeFi Post)
- Starcom: Nexus by justkevin

MetaFilter
- Every Tweet is Like Sunday by chavenet
- 2018 Mashed by subocoyne
- "The audience went nuts for it." [citation needed] by jessamyn
- a comment by soulchap
- Zelda Day 2018 by JHarris
- How to Make Friends by Bella Donna
- “I'm so excited because I love mess!” by Fizz
- Why bells ring out danger and celebration instead of ting like triangles by dancing leaves
- My dad and Charles Barkley by ChuraChura
- Package Thief vs. Glitter Bomb Trap by Foci for Analysis
- a comment by you must supply a verb
- Why Not This Idea: Dogs Can Talk For 25 Minutes Per Day by Johnny Wallflower
- a comment by ryanrs
- Byrne’s Euclid by urbanwhaleshark

Ask MeFi
- Tell me when it's decorative gourd season, motherfuckers! by peacheater
- Last names that are widely recognizable as only fictional characters? by Cool Papa Bell
- How many "Bridge Ices Before Road" signs are in the state of Michigan? by bbqturtle
- Cost of a U.S. Passport in 1984 by Ira Weston
- What are your favorite reasonably-priced housewares? by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The
- Pointers on how to learn to realistically model a fake world economy? by wooh
- How to be a better e-library patron by hungrytiger
- Facts About Social Justice Activists Not Related to Their Activism by anya32

MetaTalk
- MeFi Card Club Appreciation Part III: Beyond Thunderdome by phunniemee
- Pest Bost Contest for January 2019! by LobsterMitten
- A Metafilter community on Dreamwidth by foxfirefey
- Long Time, No See by mr_crash_davis

MeFi Music
Featured in this episode:
- warm for december (christmas cheese mix) by es_de_bah
- Keener Sounds by ageispolis
- 2019 by CarrotAdventure
- Another Year And Most Of Us Have Made It by cortex
- When Green Leaves Spring (It's Good To See You) by rangefinder 1.4

FanFare
- hey there's that new Mari Kondo show on Netflix
- also the new animated Spider-Man film is apparently pretty rad

posted by cortex (staff) to MeFi Podcast at 11:59 AM (60 comments total)

THIS IS THE FRIENDSHIP EPISODE
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 12:21 PM on January 8, 2019 [14 favorites]

Call-In Episode.

CRAP. I knew I was forgetting to do something...

Mystery solved.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:31 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

Omg mine made it in!! (And comes up first! I guess it pays to be 6-9 hours ahead of the site runners, har har.) I sound so weird on the phone O_o

SO FUN AND STRANGE to hear everyone! I'm verklempt.
posted by TinyChicken at 1:52 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

I forgot to call in. Imagine I sound like Morgan Freeman saying "Happy new year."
posted by Chrysostom at 3:19 PM on January 8, 2019 [6 favorites]

Oops. Of all the things to forget to do- this has the least consequences. Imagine a masculine, neanderthalish Lauren Bacall wishing you all good gardening in the new year.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 3:25 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

I will formally extend half-credit to anyone who leaves a comment here describing the aural qualities of their absent greetings. Keep it coming.

Also I thought it was both (a) adorable and (b) totally devastating that people called into to say they wouldn't sing but nobody called into sing. I find the whole singing voicemail thing delightful! Sing next time maybe.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:31 PM on January 8, 2019 [8 favorites]

Aw, listening to y'all is the hug that everyone needs <3
posted by Fig at 3:39 PM on January 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

I also forgot so I'll describe it as if I were going to sing it: Imagine Ymza from Emperor's new Groove but when she's a cat reacting to how she sounds with, "Is that my voice?! IS THAT MY VOICE?" only singing and with a drawl so that the Happy New Year message becomes "Hap-py Gnu Ye-ear EVer-bud-e! Let's all get WILD and WOOLLY this ye-ear and also Nev-ver EV-er Put yourself Daywn! *next octave higher* HUGS!"

So now that I think about it, a cross of Yzma as a cat with Robin Hood the Fox* but only when he's singing to the sheriff a lullaby pretending to be Nutsy the vulture.

*there is no other Robin Hood
posted by barchan at 3:54 PM on January 8, 2019 [6 favorites]

Much disappoint at the lack of soft cheeses being mentioned! BRIE! CAMEMBERT!
posted by freethefeet at 4:59 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

That job at Brown posted by BlackPebble is in an interesting part of town, pretty near to the second-best coffee in the city (after NHC). Consider applying for it, New Englanders!
posted by wenestvedt at 6:22 PM on January 8, 2019

When Bondcliff came in with the second call I laughed so hard. Excellent work everyone.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:09 PM on January 8, 2019 [4 favorites]

I forgot. Fuck. I remembered last year. Fuck.
posted by Fizz at 7:10 PM on January 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

Much disappoint at the lack of soft cheeses being mentioned!

Now that I’ve heard the whole episode I think what bondcliff was trying to say is that he wishes everyone a reggi-anno in 2019.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:58 PM on January 8, 2019 [3 favorites]

Cortex, I was left off the list.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 8:06 PM on January 8, 2019

Ah! Thank you, fixed. I realize how that happened now too, and to top it off the same bit of editing/resequencing means I actually left ellieBOA's greeting out of the episode! I'm very sorry, ellieBOA; we'll toss it in the next one.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:40 PM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Aw dangit, I meant to call. I'm so sorry for depriving you of my awful baritone-but-nasal voice.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:53 PM on January 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

Imagine I sound like if Ira Glass wasn't enjoyable to listen to.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:55 PM on January 8, 2019 [5 favorites]

I didn't call, but that's just as well because I sound like a baby chicken. Peep peep happynewyear peep peep peep!

Also, this means that EllieBOA should just call in for every episode. Lovely voice, that one!
posted by mochapickle at 2:19 AM on January 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

CRAP. I knew I was forgetting to do something...

Holy Cockfajazzle utterly forgot myself, grrrr. And had written a post-it note ("Phone Mr Cortex") which have walked past for the last few days, to boot.

Next time, if one gets one's act together...
posted by Wordshore at 3:28 AM on January 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

It's always really neat to hear your voices and multiple languages; btw, one of you sounds a lot like my boss. I did miss hearing the folks who called in previous years and am looking forward to hearing ellieBOA's new message next time.

Gray Duck, I hope you eventually got home okay and your car situation is better now.

bondcliff, love ya but including Velveeta and Cheez-Its in a list of cheeses is just incendiary. Well, at least Cheez-Its use real cheese. (Seriously though - made me laugh too. And when you said that was all the cheeses you could remember, I could imagine Wordshore stepping into the conversation to respond with more cheeses. -- on preview -- hi Wordshore!)

A behind-the-scenes story: I had an internal dialogue of what to pick to read aloud -- been rotating between a few different favorites recently. Forster? Woolf? Ishiguro? Mansfield? Which one? The answer I settled on was "This is MeFi - of course it has to be the paragraph with the cat" but I hesitated. "The cat talks. Will that be weird?"

Yeah, I know, I overthunk it because the correct answer was "This is MeFi - of course it has to be the paragraph with the talking cat" AND apparently this was the perfect episode to read about a talking cat! Thank you for mentioning talking/sentient animals. That's what I call the stars aligning. (If anyone wants to check out the story, it's free on Project Gutenberg - "At the Bay" is the first story in the collection The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield.)

And thank you for using my song!

(cortex, there's a typo in my username in the call-in list, but I dunno, finding rangers seems like a really good skill and is making me rethink my entire identity...)
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 3:40 AM on January 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

I absolutely meant to make a recording, and to sing!, but I ended up not feeling well on the night I had planned to do it and singing doesn't go super well when that happens. I sound like a 44 year old 19 year old Canadian. Unless I am drunk and the repressed Boston comes out.
posted by wellred at 4:51 AM on January 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also I thought it was both (a) adorable and (b) totally devastating that people called into to say they wouldn't sing but nobody called into sing. I find the whole singing voicemail thing delightful! Sing next time maybe.

I'm still kicking myself that I didn't sing. Could we do another one soon?
posted by jgirl at 5:26 AM on January 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Much disappoint at the lack of soft cheeses being mentioned! BRIE! CAMEMBERT!

Are you sure those are cheeses? I'll have to look them up.
posted by bondcliff at 6:23 AM on January 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

Now that I've listened to the whole thing, thanks for the shout-out! I'm so happy to give back and support this wonderful community. needlegrrl did the winter holiday card exchange, and I believe mochapickle is handling the Valentine's Day one.

If it's not too much work, would it be possible to do a "crap I missed it the first time" call-in for Feb's podcast?
posted by Fig at 6:30 AM on January 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

^ I am! Posting it to MeTa on Saturday! Join us! 💕
posted by mochapickle at 7:13 AM on January 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

OK, I totally have to get my a cappella group to sing something next time.
posted by blurker at 7:17 AM on January 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Alas, when I called in broken-down on the side of the road, that was the last ride for our good old car Rasputin. We'd hoped he'd live up to his name and inexplicably survive, but no. We spent New Years Day hanging out at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, waiting for the tow truck. But the attendants gave us free fountain drinks and donuts!

Soon y'all will see an Ask Mefi about going from a two-car to a one-car family!
posted by Gray Duck at 8:21 AM on January 9, 2019 [8 favorites]

cortex, there's a typo in my username in the call-in list

derangerfindered!

I'm still kicking myself that I didn't sing. Could we do another one soon?

We totally can.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:59 AM on January 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

On the phone, I sound exactly like my mother. Or my sister, except she smokes so not so gruff.*

If I know I'm being recorded I am silent for a long time to gather courage, then say everything so fast it's incomprehensible, and usually either spooner something or do a nonsensical word substitution, then stumble through an apology far longer and more complex than the original message. Actually I usually hang up in a panic when it's clear I'm going to voice mail.

* this triggered many 'humorous' cases of mistaken identity when we all lived in a home with one land line. Less humorous to the boyfriends who said the wrong thing to the wrong person..
posted by buildmyworld at 9:58 AM on January 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

Maybe we should do an Altman-esque call in show where everybody talks for a minute or two about literally any damn thing and I’ll just fade and pan between them all mid-message.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:16 AM on January 9, 2019 [13 favorites]

Sure, you totally want that job....
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 10:58 AM on January 9, 2019

I'm high on community and safely in the afterglow of already having gotten the last crop of editing done. I will think it's a terrible idea once I'm actually sitting down to do the editing, but by then it'll be too late, which is basically how things that get done get done.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:57 AM on January 9, 2019 [9 favorites]

I love that my message was buttoned by the last of the cheese. Warmed the old cockles, it did.

I’m also happy to report that after many extremely difficult months, things really took a turn for the better this weekend, and I am doing better than I have been since at least the summer and maybe even since September 2017. It’s amazing to me to hear the pain in my voice and realize that was just last week. I haven’t cried in days!
posted by ocherdraco at 3:33 PM on January 9, 2019 [28 favorites]

That is fantastic to hear, ocherdraco. Hugs.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:44 PM on January 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

There is so much more 148 to banter about.
posted by rhizome at 5:06 PM on January 9, 2019

Much disappoint at the lack of soft cheeses being mentioned! BRIE! CAMEMBERT!

Are you sure those are cheeses? I'll have to look them up.

No, they're French-Canadian swears.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 7:06 PM on January 9, 2019 [11 favorites]

Is there any possibility that audio editing for more Voices of MeFites Saying Stuff could get distributed to others? I realize that putting together a podcast is more than stringing audio clips together, but I rather like the idea of a Story Corps-type podcast, with short messages and ditties between the longer stories.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:16 PM on January 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

My nickname in college was Mumbles. Need I say more?

I would try to call in and sound like a fast talking, mumbling NYer that I am. Funny thing is, just last Saturday night, I was out to dinner with my SO and this person at the bar asked if I was from around there. I said no meaning I was from the next town over, but they went with the No and tried to guess where. Their next (and only) guess was from the South. My SO and I laughed so hard they walked away.
posted by AugustWest at 10:54 PM on January 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

mochapickle, I would love to hear you sounding like a baby chicken!
posted by paduasoy at 2:33 AM on January 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

Aw you guys! This is my favourite episode every year, and thanks for the pointer to Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The‘s Instagram!
posted by ellieBOA at 9:38 AM on January 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

The Sydney Mefites wanted to get together and get drunk and call again, but we couldn’t make it happen in time.

So we’re just going to get hammered and randomly drunk dial the mods throughout the year.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 1:16 PM on January 10, 2019 [7 favorites]

I'm high on community

Never get high on your own supply.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:29 PM on January 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

I love hearing all of the voices of the folks that I read every day. I promise to work on my fear of public speaking this year and call in in 2019.
posted by sundrop at 7:35 PM on January 10, 2019 [1 favorite]

Hessians! the Germans that tried to kill Geo Washington back in the day.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:37 PM on January 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

Oh right! The Imogen Heap song I was thinking of was actually from her Frou Frou collaboration, early on in the song Flicks, and on a quick glance to review I still have no idea what the hell she's referring to.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:41 PM on January 10, 2019

Sheesh, it's a week into the year and I still keep trying to write "2018" on my podcasts.

I always get stuck in line at the grocery store behind the guy paying with a podcast.
posted by peeedro at 9:52 PM on January 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

> by then it'll be too late, which is basically how things that get done get done.

Goonies Never Don't Do Things!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 3:00 AM on January 11, 2019

ocherdraco, so glad to hear things are looking up!

cortex, what was the name of the podcast where the hosts rip apart everything they don't like about a song and then rewrite it to "fix" it? It sounds really up my alley!
posted by capricorn at 6:41 AM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Punch Up The Jam!
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:40 AM on January 11, 2019

Thank you!
posted by capricorn at 9:57 AM on January 11, 2019

Next time, if one gets one's act together...

I called myself instead, but my line is always busy.
posted by Celsius1414 at 12:38 PM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Everyone's voices were just beautiful! I definitely enjoyed the longer quotes and stories, but really - it was all around great.

Definitely a vote here for another call-in thingiemabob before too long.
posted by erratic meatsack at 1:23 PM on January 11, 2019

Alas, when I called in broken-down on the side of the road, that was the last ride for our good old car Rasputin.

Ra-ra-Rasputin
Break down in the carpool lane
There was a car that really was gone

Ra-ra-Rasputin
Donuts and a coke machine
Waiting for tow truck then we will be fine

Ra-ra-Rasputin
Broke down driving home machine
Gray Duck was stranded but she carried on
posted by ActingTheGoat at 1:54 PM on January 11, 2019 [10 favorites]

Was the outro music rangefinder’s piece? *swoon* I could listen to hours of that, and probably will be looping it endlessly.... as soon as I finish cleaning the bathrooms. SO GOOD.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:40 PM on January 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

I just listened to this podcast while taking a very long walk and it was so nice to have you all on my walk with me.
posted by lazuli at 5:11 PM on January 12, 2019 [6 favorites]

If there's enough interest in doing this again, would there be enough interest in a quarterly voice-cast? And would there be enough interest in periodic themes?
I actually don't know the answer. I just have in my head the soundtrack of thirty or forty Mephitis saying their one favorite "Metafilter: x" gag. Or their one favorite comment from another poster. Similar to the call-in joke show in the past.
I'm not wedded to any of these ideas. I'm mostly just running my mouth.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 6:49 PM on January 14, 2019 [2 favorites]

Metafilter: I'm not wedded to any of these ideas. I'm mostly just running my mouth.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:51 PM on January 14, 2019 [3 favorites]

CHURCH OF SUBGENIUS christ it finally came back to me, that's what the Bob Dobbs thing I was trying to pull out of my addled skull was, fuckin' hell
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:23 AM on January 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

I was trying to shout SUBGENIUS to you backwards in time over the podcasternet but I guess it didn't work
posted by moonmilk at 9:43 AM on January 17, 2019 [3 favorites]

Yeah I'm late to the thread. Just here to say that reading Dave Barry was a part of my childhood too. I even monologued a few as part of a program that improved kids' public speaking. Thanks, Dave Barry, for my authoritative voice and for the references I didn't understand!
posted by Monochrome at 6:31 PM on August 12, 2019