Episode 39: The power of words, small-town crime, baked goods as weapons, to share or not to share, internet intelligence, and Swedish music a la West Virginia. Isn’t that enough?

Subscribe with iTunes

Meandering Rant: “Words make the World” by Patty

Book Report: Personal Cloud, information presented by Christian

Music Segment: First Aid Kit, brought to you by Rob

During the conversation on Personal Cloud, the band Patty couldn’t think of was Vampire Weekend. Here’s the story about use of photos, in AdWeek.

The movie mentioned is “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia” [video trailer]

Listen to The Slacker Factor and grow your brain. Then, rave about the podcast in iTunes comments.

Episode 38: Want to live a long time?  Plug into life.  Get stuff done.  Enjoy music, especially loud guitars.  Learn something.  Keep yourself interested and interesting.  Listen to The Slacker Factor.

Subscribe with iTunes

Meandering Rant: “Do, Then Learn” by Rob

Book Report: A conversation on Longevity, hosted by Patty

Music Segment: Chickenfoot “Sexy Little Thing”, brought to you by Christian

Four out of Five Dentists surveyed say they’d rather be listening to The Slacker Factor podcast than cleaning your teeth.  Floss, brush, and listen.

Now, before you start thinking I’m elitist, or a diva, or even a picky bitch, hear me out…

When I go to the movie theater to see a film, I have certain expectations.  I pay the movie theater a reasonable rate of my hard-earned money.  I would like the theatre and the theatre bathrooms to be clean, the temperature to be pleasant, my seat to be comfortable, and the quality of the projection and sound to be top notch.  I am there to relax and be entertained.  I am not there to complain that the sound is too low, or the lights are still turned up in the theater while the movie is playing, or the bathroom needs more paper towels.

At a restaurant, I have certain expectations.  I would like to be greeted pleasantly when I arrive, be shown to a clean table, be waited on promptly, and eat deliciously prepared, well-seasoned, fresh food.  I am there to relax and enjoy a nice meal.  I am not there to ask for another fork because the tines are all bent and twisted, or request a different coffee cup because of lipstick stains, or send back my soup because it came out cold.

I pay for health insurance and my expectations are that I can go to a doctor, he or she can recommend a therapy for my health concern, I can choose that therapeutic course to address my health condition, and the insurance company will pay.  I have not given them my money so that, when and if I do have to go to the doctor, they can refuse payment and I have to fight for reimbursement.

You get the point.  My examples are few of many you have probably experienced in your own life.  They could apply to the retail industry, the airlines, your internet provider, your bank, the place you get your haircut or your car fixed, your government.

Don’t get me wrong.  I wrote these words not to complain, and, although I claim I want things my way, it is not, really about me.  This is about you, and me, and all of us making things better – together – by doing two, simple things.

The first is to deliver your work, and yourself, with pride.  I know you’re stressed; so am I.  But, we all need to remember and realize that everything we do – EVERYTHING we do – has an impact on others around us and on the world.  When you’re working, ask yourself if you’ve done all you can to make what you’re delivering the best it can be.  Have you?  Did you look at that knife to make sure there was no food on it before you brought it to the table?  Did you check to ensure your vendor is getting back to your client?  Do you think you’re going to get a new job if you don’t wear a tie and jacket to the interview?  Do you feel like you did your best, despite the world crumbling down around you?  If you bring your best to the table, you are setting the stage for others to do the same.  It is not about competition, or arrogance; it is about creating a positive experience for all involved.

The second is to set the tone that you expect the best.  It is about having no fear to ask for what you want, and taking the time to patronize businesses who deliver on your expectations.  It is about thanking people who are good at what they do, or tipping them well, or telling their manager that they are doing an excellent job.  When is the last time you sent a note to a coworker’s boss expressing your gratitude about their helpful contributions?  When something less-than-quality is presented to you, do you take the time to ask for something better or do you settle for what has been given to you out of fear or embarrassment?  When you see someone skipping steps to the detriment of a deliverable, do you step up and ask them why?  It is not about being bossy, or bitchy, or condescending; it is about being grateful for the good things and not settling for the bad.

No matter where you are in life – speak up; Ask, thank, deliver – there is always room for improvement. Want things your way and make things better for others.

< Listen to this, and more on The Slacker Factor podcast TSF23: Soup It Up. >

Episode 37: Amazing things live inside of us, and outside of our houses.  Christian talks giant rodents, Rob likes the songs of Flowers & Sea Creatures, Patty’s folks spot a chupacabra, and special guest, Bryan Davis, teaches us about gut critters.

Subscribe with iTunes

Meandering Rant: “A Bunch of $hit that Pisses Me Off” by Christian

Book Report: “Guts & Glory”, our second interview with Bryan Davis of AskBryan.com.  Check out his podcast Doc Fermento Discovers the World.  He reminds us to “Drink the Brine!”

Music Segment: Flowers and Sea Creatures, brought to you by Rob.

Interesting references from Bryan Davis:

• Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride GAPS diet
• Sandor Katz “Wild Fermentation”
• Sally Fallon Cultured/Fermented Food
• Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar, and more
• Robb Wolf Paleo Diet/Lifestyle
• Mark Sisson Primal Diet/Lifestyle

Plus, this deal from Christian: Capybara the World’s Largest Rodent.

Spread word of The Slacker Factor podcast, and populate the slacknation.

Portlandia is a television series that debuted on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) on January 21, 2011. The show, produced by Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel, is set and filmed both in and near Portland, Oregon and features Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen as well as Carrie Brownstein, a member of the now-defunct band Sleater-Kinney and current lead guitarist/singer for Wild Flag.

The name Portlandia refers to the sculpture of the same name above the entrance of the Portland Building on Fifth Avenue in downtown Portland. The statue also appears in the opening montage title sequence.

TSF Episode 21 – Expressive Textplexing began with a rant from writer, chef, production professional and father-extraordinaire, Steve Angiolino.  Listen to the podcast here and read his insights, below.

I am so sick of the textification of the American Language. Of course by now everyone is used to the LOL’s and OMG’s and they are accepted additions to the vernacular. It’s the forty-five year old men who ask about my “avails” for an upcoming meeting. Or the woman who is definitely not in line for tickets to Justin Bieber, telling me she is going to send along the “deets” for a project we’re working on. I’m also sick of the “whatevs,” “probs,” and the “ushe.” Finish the damn word! It’s as if everyone is so overworked and exhausted they not only can’t finish sentences, but they haven’t enough stamina to finish words longer then six letters.

I get it when you are handcuffed by the 160-character limit and you don’t want to buck up the extra five for unlimited texting. That’s cool, I can get behind that, but when you send me an email where the sky is the limit and you can be as verbose as the annoying person on the 5:46 with the cell phone embedded in their ear, then I get annoyed. You’ve got the space, unless your fingers are cramping so hard from carpal tunnel, that you look like that weird lobster boy at the freak show in the county fair, then please take those extra few seconds and finish the words!

Trust me; I’ll be _available_ to get the _details_ _whatever _time works best for you. I won’t quit mid- sentence. I have the wherewithal to read the word right down to the last letter. I’m no Edwin Newman. I’m not on a crusade to reinstate proper American English. I just ask us forty-something’s to give up talking like 15 year olds, madly pecking away on their Blackberries about how hot Tommy looks in his basketball uniform.

Enough already, and that’s enough with a GH and not two FFs.

___________________________________________________________

Steve Angiolino has finally come to the realization that sarcasm is not a great business model. He currently lives in the Jersey suburbs with his wife and two kids and spends long periods of time staring out the back window of his house wondering, “What’s going on in Hoboken right now?” Steve is easily annoyed and often gets into odd conversations with the elderly at the local ShopRite grocery store.

That was then...

At that time, Al Bundy and his misfit, unmotivated family ruled the airwaves and, I suppose , there was something empowering about this klan.  They were sarcastic, selfish, and non-trendy – a huge counterpoint to the buttoned-up, Izod clad yuppies that were so prevalent in those post-Disco, Regan “Just Say No” days.  Al, Peg, Kelly, and Bud, in their slovenly simplicity, were harbingers and ambassadors for the soon-to-come Seattle grunge and slacker movement of the early 90’s.  They were the original couch potatoes.

But, as ground-breaking as they were in the late 80’s, I’m here to tell you don’t be like Al Bundy.  As fresh as “Married…With Children” may have felt back-in-the-day, Al Bundy was stale.  He was the embodiment of living life for yesterday and not for today.  A hostage to the past glory of his high school football successes, Al didn’t and couldn’t enjoy his life.  He hated his job, wasn’t attracted to his sexually-willing wife, and, so, he resigned himself to apathy.  Maybe he wasn’t the brightest man on the block, but, he didn’t have to live as a sad-sack, either.  Sure, he loved his family and had his Bundy pride, but fat, drunk, and bored is no way to go through life.

...this is Now.

Fortunately for us, the actor Ed O’Neill and the people who write his characters are genius, and they’ve given us a new, reworked, better version of the every-day-dad that is more reasonable and forward looking – Jay Pritchard, the patriarch on ABC’s sitcom “Modern Family”.  Jay, like Al, is not a perfect father.  He also has a sarcastic attitude and may embrace values and ideas that feel a little dated, but he is a forward-looking character.  He isn’t hung up on what happened in his life when he was a teenager; he is, instead, learning to do right for his family.  And, unlike Al, Jay is way into his beautiful wife and looks to make her happy, even when he disagrees with her perspective.  His approach is a modern one of learning and growing into acceptance, instead of shrugging his shoulders and living in the past.

So, thank you, Ed O’Neill, for giving us two fathers for two different eras of our lives.  And, thank you, Jay Pritchard and all of you other men out there, for not being Al Bundy.

< Listen to this meandering rant, and more, on the Tasty Televisionary podcast TSF18 here or on iTunes >

Episode 21:  This expansive episode of the podcast welcomes guest Rantologist and fellow slacker Steve Angiolino, explores our Constitution and Julian Assange, and vibes with the beats of Maceo Plex. Oh, and Patty surprises Christian and Rob, once again, with a real story of our modern world.

Subscribe with iTunes

Meandering Rant: “Textification of American Language” by Steve Angiolino

Book Report: The First Amendment and Freedom of Expression

Music Segment: “Vibe your Love” by Maceo Plex.  Here’s the sexy video!

Also mentioned:
Rebel Rave TV - High quality videos of underground dance music culture

Lullaby Renditions of Pink Floyd

If you’re like me you probably remember the good ole college days of drinking excessively and  listening to Pink Floyd.  Well now you can pass that on to your children! Well, maybe not the excessive drinking… but you get the point.

Check out Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Pink Floyd and you too can send your kids to the Dark Side of the Moon!

Are you old enough to remember when home video cameras first started to become popular and people started bringing them to parties or family things and somehow, whenever a video camera entered the situation, people changed.  You could be having a good meal or conversation and everyone would be relaxed and then some uncle would come through with the say-hi-to-the-camera bit and nervous people got more nervous, and outgoing people turned on the charm, and those in-between just kinda stiffened up and waved “hi” because they didn’t know what else to do?

Then, TV hit the air with a show called “The Real World” where they tried to capture that same social thing where everyone is hanging out together but there just happens to be cameras present?  What happened on that show in 1992 was sort of the same thing that occurred with your technical uncle – people became slightly warped, awkward versions of themselves for the MTV nation, and other people found that entertaining.

What was true in your family setting was true for those 20-somethings in that New York apartment – the camera changes things.

Now everything feels different.  Andy Warhol’s experiment has expanded.  The huge commercial enterprise that is now Reality Television has warped our true sense of what makes up the reality of our lives.

Technology and the interwebs have pushed entertainment into our lives every day in every way.  Videos on our cell phones, pictures and words everywhere; you’re no longer allowed to be shy or stiff.  You must have a joke, a smooth line, a sweet soundbite to share.  In this “I’m always on” world, friends become more like fans and all of us are performing most all of the time.

How can we not be confused by all of this expectation of entertainment?  Is Miley Cirus Miley Cirus today or is she Hanna Montana?  I can’t tell anymore.

In real life, now, people become impatient with those who don’t know their lines.  I’m guilty of it.  Standing in line 10 minutes to get a coffee and the person in front of me doesn’t know what they want when they get up to the counter, and I become so aggravated.  You mean they haven’t checked it all out, already?  They haven’t rehearsed exactly how they’re going to say their order?  They’re not ready for their performance?  Or, how about those people who always need help with their lines – using their cell phone – “Line, please” – to ask their girlfriend what they should get for dinner or what to pick up at the supermarket?

Do you sense it happening at work?  If your boss or some leadership person is speaking to a group of people, don’t you expect them to be perfect?  If they make a gaffe or are repetitive or lose their train of thought, do you lose respect for them?  Not only have we all become performers, but we have seen so much of this stuff, we have become intense critics, too.

You’re going to speak to me; it better be good.

Buddhists believe that reality is a big dream and that we’re all connected because we are all made up of the same essence.  I’m holding tight to that big dream part, because if I’m really connected with Snookie and her housemates from Jersey Shore, I gotta revaluate some things.

< Listen to this meandering rant, and more, on the Crazy like Patty (or Snooki) podcast TSF11 here or on iTunes >