Episode 7 - Hobbits And Food Trucks And Freedom, Oh My!
Title: Hobbits And Food Trucks And Freedom, Oh My! (September 10, 2010)
A Barrie Special Episode! Erstwhile Talk of the Nation producer Barrie Hardymon (@bhardymon) guests for the very first time on PCHH, filling in for Trey Graham. Linda begins by talking about Glen’s invitation to an al fresco rooftop screening of Gymkata (callback to episode 5) hosted by the writer Ian Buckwalter. A debate ensues about the appropriateness of wearing white sweatpants while a fighting goat.
They bring back the Regrettable Television Pop Quiz. The Bachelor Pad clip prompts a discussion of The Bachelor’s soft-focus, moralistic tendencies compared with its offshoot’s rampant hedonism. Glen, meanwhile, uses The Great Food Truck Race clip to talk about the pulse pounding thrill of talking about parking and to champion a contestant who invented the wonderful escargot lollipop. (“He’s like a feudal warlord who hates snails.”)
What Is Making Them Happy
Linda - Courtroom TV show Judge Judy always makes Linda happy, mostly because it is one of the most educational shows on TV. Glen agrees and talks about a period where he watched Judge Judy because he wanted her to yell at him. Linda cites a particular episode where an eBay scammer sent the auction winners photocopied images of cell phones instead of the real thing.
Barrie - Barrie mentions two things: getting the tickets for a Lady Gaga concert and reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. She confesses some ambivalence for these two things because everyone (no less than The New York Times, in Franzen’s case) has been talking about them.
Glen - He brings a copy of Michael Kupperman’s Tales Designed to Thrizzle Vol. 6, and praises its humor. He mentions specific comics such as “Jungle Princess,” “Cowboy Oscar Wilde,” and “Ben’s Warehouse of Cursed Savings.” He gives Linda a surprise loaner: a limited edition of The Hobbit. (Callback to Episode 4)
Stephen - The Stephen Reads a Book project initiated in Episode 6 has received a lot of recommendations from listeners, but a clear plurality named Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. This is endorsed by Barrie, who championed the book’s strong, skilled heroine Katniss. They then resolve that this is the book the Stephen will actually read.
Some Episode Highlights
- “If you’re fighting, don’t wear white pants. Everybody knows that. You never know how nervous you could get!” - Barrie Hardymon on Kurt ‘Gymkata’ Thomas’ sartorial mistake.
- Stephen, Linda, and Barrie reveal their remarkable achievements as Bachelor franchise scholars.
- The panelists paint a mental picture of the quintessential Bachelor (“A waxy-chested, square-jawed, dead-eyed dullard.”)
- Barrie mentions Real World/Road Rules Challenge.
- Other food truck-related shows proposed by the panel: Keep on Food Truckin’, Truck U, Food Drive
- Linda mentions a TV Guide list that says Judge Judy Sheindlin earned 45 million dollars in 2010, making her one of the highest earning women in entertainment.
- Barrie Hardymon’s stellar performance in the NPR parody video of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone.” (Barrie is the lady in red. WATCH IT, IT’S AWESOME.)
- A list of the titles suggested by PCHH listeners: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. They also named authors Kevin Brockmeier, Gary Shteyngart, and Miranda July.
