Posts Tagged ‘talkshoe’

New ways to be offended by the Internet

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Thanks to the Internet, (relatively) new terms have been entering the vernacular of the web. There's texting and blogging and Twitter and Facebook and Woopra and iPhones and email, just to name a few. And these new terms in turn created new terms. Blogger friends might be called "bliends". People who follow you on Twitter can be called "tweeps". Et cetera ad nauseam.

With all of this new vocabulary, it's only a matter of time until we start seeing offensive terms crop up. In order to head off the stereotypers and hatemongers at the pass, I thought I'd just go ahead and create all of these new offensive terms first. That takes away the word's power. Right?

Here's my list of new offensive, bigoted, racist, sexist terms for new media usage:

Twigger: (n) A person who uses Twitter to sound like an urban African American, whether or not this person actually is African American and/or from an urban setting.

Wopra: (adj) The situation when one's search engine stats show high traffic from keywords such as "cooking pasta", "gold chains on men", "where to buy velour", or "working in sanitation."

E-tard: (n) Electronic correspondence sent in which the sender seems to quite obviously have severe mental deficiency, whether through incorrect spelling, improper grammar, or overall failure to use sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization.

Paki-mail: (n) Electronic correspondence received in response to any customer service query made through a corporation's website, especially when the correspondence was written or copied and pasted by someone who did not read the original query and does not have more than a basic understanding of English.

Blymie: (n) An internet journal or blog dedicated to finding examples of Anti-Semitism, no matter how far-fetched or ludicrous. Typically owned and written by someone in the jewelry, finance, or entertainment industry.

Firefags: (n) A group of individuals who are gay for Firefox.

Chinkipedia: (n) An instance where a Wikipedia page is constantly edited and censored as if subject to the whims of a communist censorship-happy government.

Cunting: (v) The act of sending a text message that dredges up past arguments between the sender and the recipient even if said arguments had already been resolved.

iHun: (n) A multimedia device that is used primarily for looking at pornography and more specifically pornography involving defecation or urination.

Blogpollack: (n) A list of blogs in the sidebar of one's blog that one doesn't actually read but lists because everyone else lists them.

Cyberspic: (n) The corner of the Internet reserved for people to post pictures of and discuss their vehicles outfitted with spoilers, sound systems, and racing gear worth many hundreds the times the value of the actual car.

Now, lest any of you think that I'm racist or prejudiced (unless you're ugly, that is), let me assure you that my goal here is to take the power of these words away by creating them before some bad person could. I'm kind of a hero.


******

In other Avita-news, thanks to those of you who listened to last night's episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded." Britt and I talked about the military and whether or not they are still fighting for our right to live the American way or if their mission has been co-opted by the military leaders to pursue a more imperialist agenda.

If you missed it, you can go here to listen to it, along with all of our archived shows. You can also download the mp3 or find us on iTunes by searching the podcasts for "retarded".

The one where I get shot

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

I spent the last three solid days cleaning out my office. I emptied the equivalent of 10 40-gallon trash bags worth of trash out of my office. I found receipts from five years ago buried under 6 inches of dust. I got dust in every orifice. I moved furniture, cleaned, and worked until 2 in the morning every night. Since I get up between 6-7 every day, I'm running on fumes. I plan on doing a video tour of my newly clean office at some point, but not today. It's 7:30 on Tuesday night, and I'm going to bed.

In other Avita-news, tonight at 9 PM is another new episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded"!

Tonight's topic: The military. Are they fighting for our freedom and our American way? Are they just pursuing an imperialist agenda? Should the military be honored more than our police, firefighters, and EMTs?

If you listen live, you can join everyone in the chatroom where there is usually a lively discussion going on that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. You can create an account at Talkshoe and download the Talkshoe Pro software or just listen as a guest. I recommend downloading the Talkshoe Pro software because even though it still has problems, it seems like the problems are more minimal with it. Hope to see you there!

Carbs can be good for you

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

The recent anti-carb crusade that has taken the world by storm is close-minded and gastrophobic. Carbs can be good too!

One example? My friend Casey will be eating pancakes for charity. She will be pitted against local Indianapolis celebrities while she stuffs her face with evil carbohydrates drowned in delectable syrup and butter. And each competitor is raising money to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, which feeds over 3,000 families every week.

Do you have a few extra dollars in your Paypal account? Why not throw them her way and help feed a family?



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In other Avita-news:

I've only gotten two entries to the Moobs Contest. Women, you're disappointing me. Your husbands or boyfriends don't have to have actual bra-wearable moobs. Just snap a pic and send it in, and everybody can vote! You have until tomorrow.

Also, thanks to everyone who tuned in last night to "Clearly, You're Retarded." If you missed the show, you can go here to listen to it, along with all of our archived shows. You can also download the mp3 or find us on iTunes by searching the podcasts for "retarded".

What should you do this summer?

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

With season finales happening left and right and very few worthwhile television series starting this summer, you have three choices when it comes to entertaining yourself until the fall.

Choice #1: Turn off TV. This is a bad idea. You see, the television-watching muscle needs to be exercised regularly and by turning off television for three months, this muscle will atrophy. And when it comes around to the new fall season, your atrophied muscle will mistake crappy television for good television. Before long, instead of enjoying smart entertainment, you'll be wasting time with "Random Dad Trying to Raise Three Lovable Kids", "I Love New York's Gonorrhea", "The Real Housewives of Utica", and "Keeping Up With the Kardashians' Plus Jon From Jon and Kate Plus Eight", thereby contributing to the mental downfall of society at large.

Choice #2: Watch whatever's on. With the exception of a few shows such as Psych, Monk, True Blood, and Ghost Hunters, there is nothing but unadulterated shit on the air over the summer. By subjecting your television muscle to this shit, you'll risk necrosis of your muscle, which will die and fall out through your nose. And then these drippings of television muscle will join together in the sewer, become a giant TV muscle monster that rampages through New York screaming, "SERENITY NOW".

Choice #3: Pick up some television on DVD to keep you occupied. This is the best option by far. You can exercise your television watching muscle with good, high quality television, keeping it in tip-top shape for the fall season. Plus, no rampaging monsters and society remains intelligent! "But, genius wonderful Adam, what should we watch?" I'll tell you:

  • The State: The Complete Series – Back when MTV had something of quality, The State was funny, quirky, dark, and launched the careers of actors like Michael Ian Black (Stella), Thomas Lennon (Reno 911), and Ken Marino (Veronica Mars), to name a few. Their best tag line is a tie between "I'm gonna dip my balls in it!" and "Two-hundred and forty dollars worth of pudding. Ohhhhh yeahhhhh."
  • Pushing Daisies: The Complete Second Season (also available on Blu-ray) – The biggest tragedy of the past season was ABC's blatant fuckery with regards to this fascinating, beautiful show. ABC didn't even air the last three episodes (although they should be airing sometime soon), but now you can watch the episodes all the way through and marvel at the awesomeness.
  • The Middleman: The Complete Series – If you told me that I'd recommend a television series that aired on the ABC Family channel, I'd punch you in your endocrine system. However, this show was chock full of smart writing, great quips, and hilarious characters. The first episode is a bit slow, but get through that and revel in the fun. And mourn the non-renewal. Fuckers at ABC Family. I should punch them in their endocrine system.
  • True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series) (also available on Blu-ray – It's not subtle. It's heavy-handed. It has broad characterization. But it also has a rich world full of publicly outed vampires and a nubile psychic waitress played by the delectable Anna Paquin. Oh, and she's naked.
  • Dollhouse: Season One (also available on Blu-Ray – Now that it's officially been renewed, it's time for you losers who didn't watch it the first time to catch up on the uneven yet brilliant season 1. This includes the unaired episode 13, which is an epilogue that takes place in the far future. Eliza Dushku still has to improve her acting skills, but a well-rounded, highly skilled cast helps bolster her less-than-chameleonic ability. It's no Firefly, but it's still Joss Whedon, which puts it miles above most TV.

Now, thanks to me, you will have a fruitful and healthy summer.


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In other Avita-news, tonight at 9 PM is another new episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded"!

Tonight's topic: Is forgiveness divine or stupid?

Is it really a good thing to forgive someone who did an unspeakable wrong to you? Why should you speak to someone who hurt you badly ever again? If someone you hate is on fire, would you piss on them to put it out? Why or why not?

If you listen live, you can join everyone in the chatroom where there is usually a lively discussion going on that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. You can create an account at Talkshoe and download the Talkshoe Pro software or just listen as a guest. I recommend downloading the Talkshoe Pro software because even though it still has problems, it seems like the problems are more minimal with it. Hope to see you there!

Candy canes from heaven

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

A conversation with a friend reminded me of this story, which I should have told several months ago but never got around to it.

Late one December night, coming home from Britt's, I had to stop by our corner Walgreens for toilet paper. I walked in and stopped at the massive tower of boxes of candy canes that capped one of the aisles. About four boxes deep and stretching almost all of the way to the ceiling, the tower called to me. Amy loves candy canes, so I thought that I'd pick up a box for her to eat and use to decorate the tree simultaneously.

The tower was too tall to reach the top, so the only way to get a box was to pull it from the bottom. The bottom was at least four boxes deep and had at least ten boxes side by side, so I just chose the middle bottom one, pulled it out, and continued down the aisle to get to the toilet paper.

As I turned the corner, I saw a little old lady who couldn't have been younger than 80, clutching her basket like one of the fourteen cats she undoubtedly kept at home, walk up to the display, apparently contemplating a candy cane purchase. I hadn't stepped more than one step out of sight when I heard it.

"KKEEEEERASHAMBOOOM!"

Peering around the corner, I saw the old lady almost completely buried in candy cane boxes. One foot stuck out of the pile, reminiscent of the Wicked Witch meeting the business end of Dorothy's house. As I watched, dumbstruck, two managers ran up and began to help her to her feet. Her hair wild, glasses askew, looking as if she and the resident lothario down at the rest home had just bumped uglies, she seemed very disoriented. Much like one had just been struck on or about the head by hundreds of boxes.

I quickly grabbed the toilet paper, snuck around the back of the store, and checked out.


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In other Avita-news, tonight at 9 PM is another new episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded"! LOST finale, SHMLOST shminale!

Tonight's topic: Are we a shallow nation?

Does someone who's attractive get more opportunities than someone who's ugly? Is that fair or right? Do you give someone who's dressed nicely more credit than someone who's not? Does dressing up affect your own attitude and personality?

If you listen live, you can join everyone in the chatroom where there is usually a lively discussion going on that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. You can create an account at Talkshoe and download the Talkshoe Pro software or just listen as a guest. I recommend downloading the Talkshoe Pro software because even though it still has problems, it seems like the problems are more minimal with it. Hope to see you there!

Ode to my grandfather

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook likely saw the news that I posted about my grandfather dying early Tuesday morning. He had been suffering for a long time now, and his physician had been predicting that he "wouldn't last the week" for almost two years – almost since the day my grandmother died. Those of you who sent me condolence emails or messages through Twitter or Facebook, thank you very much.

I moved away from Boston when I was three, and can count on one hand the number of times I saw my dad's parents after that. They came down and visited twice and we went up to visit them three times. I wasn't particularly close to either of them, although my grandfather and I communicated during college quite a bit. Even though he only had a sixth-grade education, he would write me letters and send money every few months. I would always reply with my own letters, and we communicated like that during my entire college career. It was a very sweet gesture, albeit an occasionally indecipherable one, and I took every chance I had to tell him how much it meant to me that he would send those letters.

Until the last several years, my grandfather was in amazing health. Before a hospital visit in 2001, the last time he was in the hospital was in the Korean War when a jeep he was driving exploded. He walked away without a scratch but they insisted on taking him the hospital anyways. He was probably the toughest person I've ever met, and it was always difficult to see him in a weakened condition. The last time I saw him, he was staying in a hospital room with my grandmother and was raring to get home. He also handed me the last letter he'd ever write me and asked me not to open it until after he had died. I searched through my file cabinet on Tuesday and finally found it, a normal-looking 8X10 envelope with "Adam Heath Avitable" scrawled, barely legible, on the front. I smiled at the fact that he uses my full name just like I do, and began to read:

Dear Adam,

If you are reading this, then I have finally passed on, hopefully to a better place. Or so it would seem. However, it is likelier that I will crawl from the ground a hungry brain-eating monster, shambling from victim to victim in my never-ending quest for a meal. You were my first grandson, so I am entrusting you with this letter in order to avoid a zombie plague like the famous Undead Attack of '66.

Here are directions to my pre-purchased grave site. I need you to fly to Boston and come to the grave, where I have hidden a shovel. Take the shovel and dig up my coffin. When you open the coffin, be very careful to keep your hands and fingers away from my mouth, as zombies can be quicker than they look. I need you to separate my head from my neck, put my head in a box or bag, and then bury it in a separate location.

Two years ago, when your grandmother died, I had to go through this same process and she almost got me. In fact, she managed to turn two groundskeepers into the undead before I could stop her rampage. Zombies are serious business, and you cannot take this responsibility lightly!

I cannot ask your father to do this, as I know it would be too difficult, so the burden rests on your shoulders alone. Tell no one of this letter, as we do not want to cause a panic in the streets about future zombie attacks.

May God have mercy on our souls.

Love,
Jerry Avitable*

So, I'm off to Boston. Wish me luck?


***
In other Avita-news, tonight we're having a Britt-free installment of "Clearly, You're Retarded!" Stepping into Britt's highly capable fashionable shoes is the intelligent, although not quite as smart as me, Faiqa!

The show starts tonight, Wednesday, at 9 PM EST, and our topic is about destroying children's dreams. More specifically, should parents encourage and support a belief in fictional characters like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy? Is lying to your children okay in this situation?

If you're going to listen, I strongly suggest that you download the TalkShoe Pro software – it's free and much more stable than the web interface. Listen live online here: Clearly, You're Retarded

clearlyretarded_faiqa

*This letter may or may not be fabricated and I am not actually going to Boston to do any such thing.

Bucket list and Fuck it list

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

My bucket list – 10 things that I want to do before I die, in no discernible order:

  1. Ride a dolphin
  2. Get high
  3. Eat a steak in the nicest steak restaurants in New York, Chicago, and Dallas.
  4. Wrestle an alligator
  5. See the Avitable castle in Naples
  6. Go to a nude beach
  7. Burn my old boss's house down with him inside
  8. Do stand up comedy
  9. Write a book
  10. Hang out with Joss Whedon

My fuck it list – 10 things that I DON'T need or want to do before I die, in no discernible order. Idea taken from here:

  1. Travel anywhere (obviously, just for the sake of traveling)
  2. Get a tattoo
  3. Go skydiving
  4. Bury the hatchet with shitty people
  5. Run a marathon
  6. Watch Casablanca
  7. Change the oil in my car
  8. Read "War and Peace"
  9. Eat chicken wings
  10. Rewatch that shitfest of a trilogy, the Lord of the Rings

What would be on your bucket list and fuck it list?


***
In other Avita-news, thanks to everyone who tuned in last night for the latest episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded." We answered most of the readers' questions we received, and I wanted to thank Karen, Stephanie, Wayne, Laura, Becky, Dawn, Sybil, Deidre, Amanda, and Food Vigilante for their questions!

If you missed the show, you can listen to it streamed live, download the mp3, or subscribe to us on iTunes!

We can fix your life

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

"Please, Britt," I beg. "It will only last an hour."

"Not tonight," she says bluntly. "I have a headache and I'm tired and I don't feel like it."

"Fine, maybe I'll just do it with myself or even ask Faiqa if she wants to!"

"Go ahead," she calls my bluff. "You know it's the best when it's with me."

I'm talking, of course, about our weekly radio show. Wednesday nights at 9 PM EST, Britt and I pick a controversial topic and argue about it for an hour. Britt lives in a big old airy-fairy land of Utopia and I'm a realist and a cynic who knows how the world really works. And I'm always right. But the outcome is pretty entertaining, so we keep doing it and will continue to do so until it's no longer fun or a source of amusement.

Since launching the show on July 9th, we've discussed 31 different topics:

  • Bullying a bully
  • Spousal obligations in social situations
  • Sterilization of the mentally retarded
  • Assimilation into American culture
  • Spanking your children
  • Does money improve your life?
  • Micromanagement at work
  • Wisdom vs. Intelligence
  • US promotion of democracy abroad
  • Torture
  • Definition of friendship
  • Arranged marriage
  • Using Facebook to look up old friends
  • Should kids be allowed in public?
  • Internet addiction
  • Safe Haven laws
  • Intelligence restrictions on voting
  • Circumcision
  • Pharmacists' rights to morally oppose a prescription
  • The perspectives of childless couples on friendships
  • Environmentalism
  • Cloning
  • The drinking age
  • Age discrimination
  • Plastic surgery
  • The death penalty
  • Porn
  • Abortion
  • Being open vs. being guarded
  • Using "gay" as a pejorative term

For our 20th show, we changed the format a bit and invited reader participation. Several people submitted their questions, which we discussed, sometimes forcefully, on the air that night. And tonight is part 2!

"Reader Participation II: We Can Fix Your Life" – tonight's show will not be any good unless we actually have participation, so it's all in your hands.

We need your questions. Is there anything you want advice on? Whether it's what type of gift to get for your spouse, how to get away with tax fraud, the best way to cook a steak, or whether or not you should get that next tattoo, your questions are desperately needed. We'll go through all of them (or as many as we can) live on the air and give you both useful (me) and completely useless (Britt) advice!

This show really won't work unless we get at least 20-30 advice questions from people, so take a minute, just for me, and think about something that you need to know. What would you ask Dear Abby? Your priest? Your mom? If you want to be anonymous, that's fine, too!

Email your question(s) to me at my first name (adam) at my last name (avitable) dot com and you shall have my everlasting gratitude. Well, at the very least, gratitude that extends to Wednesday night.

And, of course, don't forget to tune in to see if your question gets chosen!

What else do I dislike?

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Yesterday's post got me thinking. Even though a lot of people, both in the comments and via email, communicated that they agreed with me (and it was weird how many of them were mothers), I still wondered if maybe I just have a weirder list of things that creep me out than most people.

Let's find out. Here's my (incomplete) list of things that I dislike or hate. Yeah, I know that's broader than just "things that creep me out" but I figured I'd get it all out there:

1. Breastfeeding
2. Eating food with bones in it
3. Eating certain food with my hands
4. Naked old people
5. Farting
6. Meryl Streep
7. Glenn Close
8. Bad breath
9. Scientology
10. Sweat
11. Arguing in public
12. Unsanitary conditions
13. Public restrooms
14. Bad spellers
15. Frat boys
16. Sports
17. Laugh tracks
18. Children
19. Mushrooms
20. Dooce
21. Mouth breathers
22. Crowds
23. Rednecks
24. Guns
25. NASCAR (even I don't consider it a real sport)
26. Underachievers
27. Pants
28. Tattoos
29. Dane Cook
30. Public displays of affection
31. Age of consent laws
32. Television censorship
33. The FCC
34. The MPAA
35. People with no sense of humor


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In other Avita-news, tonight at 9 PM is another new episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded"! Set LOST to record on your DVR and listen to the best online radio show ever pitched on this blog!

Tonight's topic: Is it okay to bully a bully?

If you listen live, you can join everyone in the chatroom where there is usually a lively discussion going on that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. You can create an account at Talkshoe and download the Talkshoe Pro software or just listen as a guest. I recommend downloading the Talkshoe Pro software because even though it still has problems, it seems like the problems are more minimal with it. Hope to see you there!

Help me start a new tradition.

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

The Rickroll is over. Dead. Gone.

Thanks to LeSombre, we have a new tradition.

Tweet it, blog it, share it on FB. Make this the next RickRoll.

Now . . . go!


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In other Avita-news, tonight at 9 PM is another new episode of "Clearly, You're Retarded"! Set LOST to record on your DVR and tune in to part of the largest online radio show that has the word "retarded" in its title!

Tonight's topic: How far does "spousal obligation" go? Is it outdated to expect your spouse to attend work functions with you? Is it good manners to play hostess (or host) when your spouse has friends in your home? Do you and your partner attend parties together or separately? Do you have YOUR friends and your spouse's friends?

What do you expect from your spouse? What social obligations do you see as part of your "job" or "role" as the spouse?

If you listen live, you can join everyone in the chatroom where there is usually a lively discussion going on that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. You can create an account at Talkshoe and download the Talkshoe Pro software or just listen as a guest. I recommend downloading the Talkshoe Pro software because even though it still has problems, it seems like the problems are more minimal with it. Hope to see you there!