I Said No Gifts! A comedy interview podcast with Bridger WinegarBridger doesn't go on a rampage even when comedian Joe Zimmerman shovels an unwanted gift on him. The two discuss bird watching, European blizzards, and spending time with governors.
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Send a Question to I Said No Emails!
Well, I invited you here, thought I made myself perfectly clear.
But you're a guest to my home.
You gotta come to me empty, And I said, no guests. Your presences presents enough.
I already had too much stuff, So how did you dare to surbey me?
Welcome to I said, no gifts. I'm Bridgard Wineger. We're in the backyard. It's night. I had a weird amount of lunch today, which threw off my plan to eat dinner at five pm. So I've had my evening caffeine, but I have not had an evening meal. And we're just going to see how that you know, that affects, you know, how it interacts with my lowering blood sugar. You might notice some swings and emotions. That's fine. That's what we're going to deal with. And if I can, for just one moment, and I obviously can, this is my podcast. I have to just get down and plead we as a society, we have got to give colts a break. We have to stop talking about cults for ten minutes. We have to more importantly, we have to stop making documentaries about cults. I can't open one of these streaming services again to see a cult documentary. We've run through the interesting ones. I need a break. It's crushing me. I know this is hard for people to hear, but I needed to say this at the beginning of the podcast. It's very important that we stop it. Let's find something else to talk about. Okay, let's get into the podcast. I'm so thrilled about today's guest. It's Joe Zimmer. Joe, welcome to I said, no gifts.
It's me. I'm here. Thank you for having me. It's a gift to be in your presence.
Oh God, bless I mean, I'm sorry to come with a lot of angry energy. Sure, but I do think this might have some could do with not having eaten yet. But that's okay. Yeah, you told me you're coming from a bird watching spot.
I did. I was a serious XM earlier and then I stopped by. I saw that near your house is the Audubon Society at Debs. There's a park about a mile from Oh, A nice hike.
Right, I think that's the hike where there's the pond at the top with the turtles.
I didn't see the pond, but there's a lot of different top areas. Okay, so I didn't, but I did get to an a top. Okay, beautiful view. I highly recommend it. It's very close to you.
It's a beautiful park. Yeah, I've been up to the turtle part multiple times anytime someone's in town. I mean, how often do you get to see a pond just with turtles in it?
I mean twice a week Central Park turtle pond. But oh my god, that puns hard way.
I didn't know there was a turtle pond in Central Park.
Yeah, right on Belvedere Castle, next to the boat house.
How have I missed that?
In next to the ramble as well. It's in the ramp with around the ramble.
Okay, maybe I've seen it and just haven't noted it or the pond the pond. Oh, but it's not known as turtle pond. I think it is called turtle interesting. Yeah, well I don't have easy access to that.
You don't know.
So, Oh, we've got some sort of hovering vehicle. That sounds nice. I like that low rumble. Actually, if the listener can hear it, that's probably lulling them to sleep.
Already, want white noise for sleep? Yeah? Is a plane going overhead?
Do you use a white noise machine.
I do ten hours YouTube? Uh, waterfall, I'll do ten hours YouTube European blizzard.
Oh, European blizzard.
I'll do twelve hours. Space station can't recommend that enough?
Okay, what space Station International? But like, what what's the sound? Okay?
And I looked it up. What is that? It's just whatever keeps the space station going, whatever gadget, whatever gadgets need to be, whatever electrical things need to be running. Make this basic white noise. So worrying, Yes, a worrying worrying is a perfect description. I don't know if there's another word for that I do. I will say Niagara Fall's best waterfall for your white noise. Okay, And if you have a chance to take a look, I need to know who the people are that are thumbing down a ten hour white noise waterfall because there's mostly thumbs up, but there's enough thumbs down so you're like, what brought you to this and got you upset about it?
I mean, what else would they want from it?
All I could think was TLC's hit song Waterfall. But it makes you think, if you ever get somebody mean to you or just an angry person in traffic, or if somebody doesn't like you. Just think there's a thousand people that don't like a waterfall, Like I don't think it's not it's not you, it's not me, it's it's just people have their thing, right.
Everybody's got a little thing. Wow, interesting the water I hope they've listened to all ten hours of it before they give that. I know, at least give it a chance.
You're right, Maybe they maybe they left too soon before it got good.
Right, It probably takes a nice turn around act two or something. Sure, Yeah, no are the.
Night of the Soul? I know some movie terms.
You've read The Cat Book.
The Cat Book. We've all read the Cat Book. We're in Los.
Angeles, everybody here. You can't enter the city without reading the Cat Book. I think I listened to it on an audio book or something, so I retained maybe four percent of that book.
You're a professional writer, so you probably attribute most of yours access to the cat.
Constantly saving the cat. That's I mean, number one rule for me.
Yeah.
My question about these white noise videos that are ten hours long on YouTube they're not interrupted by ads?
Well, you know what, You're right if you don't have premium YouTube.
Okay, and bringing another small bragging.
Yeah, you want to spend that nine ninety nine a month for premium YouTube. I am sponsored by Google First doing very well. But if you spend the nine ninety nine a month for premium YouTube, you do get those sweet sweet ten hours.
Oh no ads free.
If you don't. You know, as I started off without the premium you know every twenty minutes, are you having trouble sleeping?
Just constant interruptions?
Yeah? Not as good?
What else are you doing on YouTube with this premium account? Because I have no interest in paying them?
Well, I have no interest in paying them, but I also have no interest in listening to That's a good point, right, But I don't have some like extremely strong opinion of whether it's worth it or not worth it. I think it just depends how much YouTube you do. But I've found that I went off it. I went off it briefly and just couldn't handle the ads. I guess I do enough white noise that I need.
The I need the right other things you're watching on there probably could be interrupted, but yes, that's I mean, there's no reason to use the white noise if there can be.
I love the relaxing sounds. I'll do during the day. I'll do aquarium, aquarium, bubbles, bubbles. Yeah, I'll do rain I'll do rainforest, Amazon jungle. So yeah, I just couldn't do the ads.
Right, right, And I mean we can get office topic. But European winter you're yeah, European blizzard. Oh, European blizzard, whipping.
Wind you get and you get a little image of a cabin with a fireplace.
Oh that's nice. Do you have any idea where it was recorded in Europe?
Uh?
I want to say Albania. Bulgaria ends in an i A.
Oh, okay, okay, Eastern Europe, Yeah, Transylvania, Yes, something like this.
It's got in an i A to have a really nasty blizzard. You want to be inside, right, you know?
Black no escape? Okay, well maybe i'll Actually I'm probably not gonna get YouTube premium. No, what am I doing? I don't use white noise?
Do you do? You go an old school rotary white noise machine.
My boyfriend he lives in New York currently, and he uses a he uses an app that goes through you know, like a wireless speaker, and it's deafening.
I mean it is that's my kind that's my kind of guy.
I have to beg him to turn it down because it's in a lot. It feels dangerous to hear it.
He's gonna get he might actually get a hearing damage over the years. So that's ten extra hours of hearing sound that most people don't have.
And I feel like I've read like seven minutes of loud noise is when your ears start to become damaged. So yes, ten hours. Well, I mean, I guess his upstairs neighbors are just that difficult. But when I'm there, it has to be turned down to some It's like a jet engine.
It feelsoild, another excellent white noise jet engine. You could have him consider those little little nighttime ear plugs.
There are nighttime ones. Oh not like I thought you were talking about, like a an earbud that was made for night like soft. I was picturing like a plush thing you would, which is not a bad idea.
I bet that does exist. But I just meant the old school stick a thing in your ear.
But I feel like this don't work that.
Well between that and low white noise. I think you should be okay.
I feel like what we should do is the very loud, white noise. And I put in the earbuds ere talking. Then I'm getting less of that he's getting. He's absolutely losing his hearing. That feels. It's like such a I don't even know. It'll just perpetuate the need. He's going to need it to be louder and louder and louder, right until I guess it evens out and you can't hear anything.
Can't hear anything that he doesn't need. The way knows.
It's the perfect plan.
It's a good sign. Actually, unfortunately you'll you'll lose some hearing in the process as well.
Right right back to the bird spot. I feel like we got off that quickly because I started talking about turtles. Did you do any actual bird watching?
I brought my binoculars. I opened up my Merlin app which is Shazam for birds. I'm sure you know that. Sure you know Merlin. It tells you all the birds that made a bird call. So I could tell you. I could tell you what I saw.
Please, I would love to know.
But a lot of scrub jays. I'm sure you're familiar with the scrub jay.
What does a scrub j look like?
I thought you would be into bird watching because I listened to your Jimmy Bardow episode and there was a moment where you mention and birds see it in your trunk. So I was like, this guy likes birds.
I do love birds. I come out here and listen to birds, but I don't know anything about them except for the parrots.
So you got your marlin O when you click on your sound recordings. Okay, obviously we heard a mocking bird, we got a scrub jay.
There can we hear this?
Oh?
Sure?
Yeah?
And this is your audio?
Oh yeah, well I can't. I can't play no, I can't play back the thirty minutes. Oh I can play you what the mockingbird sounds like?
Oh? Okay, there we go, beautiful noise.
Play you a nicer one. The mocking bird is not the most well, the mocking bird can do some beautiful calls when it's imitating another one. I heard my first ren tit, which is a bird.
Oh that's really pretty.
You probably hear that a lot around here. But wait, let me get you too pumped up. We gotta do the California the California toe. He was exciting because I got an up close look at a California toeh, and you don't get to see those in New York. Bian sure, West Coast California toe.
Oh, I really for a moment, I had forgotten what was happening, and I thought I heard a bird behind me. I follably. He was like, oh, the bird has entered the podcast.
Not a lot of bird calls after the sun goes down?
Oh right? I mean what birds are? Owls?
Sure, that's a big one.
Ravens do ravens? I feel like ravens after dark? Crows just all of the kind of Halloween birds.
Are probably yeah, yeah, the spooky ones. Yeah.
Can you make any bird calls?
That is not my strong suit. I'm trying to think. I just know that the East Coast tohee has a charming call, and some people put human words to the call so you can remember it. And the way you remember the toe he is it goes a drink your tea.
It's good advice.
Yeah. Do you ever hear that? That's toy?
Do you know any other phrases?
Well, the chickene is just chick That's an easy one. I'm blanking on the other. Oh, I think Robin is like I'm a little Robin in a tree. I'm not good. I'm not great at these, but there's about twenty seven more.
But at least those ones are on topic of the birds. The t one has nothing to do with the bird.
Oh I wish I remembered the there's a virio that has such a funny one. It's like I'm a hot lady. I wish I could remember some.
Pervert yeh on that one first. Wow, that's I had no idea.
Yeah, I mean there's a lot out there on birds.
The community is so fascinating to me. Oh yeah, I remember on Lettermhan they used to have like the bird call competition winners coming. These people do incredible, amazing. I mean it was I have no idea how you would even teach yourself to do that.
Now these people are going viral on Instagram for how well they can imitate.
Oh really yeah? So is that like someone will have an entire account dedicated to themselves making bird noises?
Well, I've just seen the competition. Oh okay, they show the winner right and just crush it. Just some lady, just some thirty year old lady just destroys a perfect bird.
The literal image of that of a thirty year old lady. Just destroying a bird is a lot to handle. But yeah, I mean anybody can do. I mean maybe not anybody. I guess it's a talent you have to have, but it seems like that talent can land anywhere. Anyone can practice to become a bird caller.
Yeah. I imagine it's like being good at impressions exact comedian.
Some people can do it.
Some people are you know, savants.
Right, Oh? Yes, yes? And with bird calls is the practical intent to bring birds to you?
Oh, I mean, big controversy in the bird in community because I start are going two years is to goo to Central Park and I went to birding Bob. He gives bird tours and he shows you around, shows you all the birds, and he will make bird calls. The most common one he'll do is just a and he makes that sound and birds come down the branches toward us. It's pretty amazing. But then he'll occasionally bring out the app like I just did and make an actual bird call and then it'll get it'll get the whatever bird you want. I'll get the vireo to think there's another vieo nearby, and it'll come down real close. So all the tourists get to see it real close, and then there's an But there's a sect of birders that are more purest that think it's pure evil to use bird calls on birds.
Oh, because it's so accurate, and it's I mean, it's deceit, it's deceit.
They say they're tricking this bird into thinking it has a mate or thinking that there's a friend, and then it's going to stress them out. But then there's the bird call people that are like, it's it's relaxed, it's fine, we're just enjoying. We're just teaching people about birds. We're not killing we're not killing grandmothers over here yet.
But the side who's the anti side, they're okay with if a human is making the noise.
The purists just want no bird They want no bird calls. What you don't want any any distraction to these sweet, sweet birds that are trying to live their lives.
This sounds to me like this group just isn't capable of making the noises. They tried and they've kind of failed and are now making a fuss because they can't be part of the group.
I will say with that group, I've gone with the serious group, and they're definitely more into plants as well. Oh they're like, there's that plant, there's that bug, there's that bird. They know at all.
Wow, how long have you been doing this?
Just two and a half years.
It feels like birding has exploded.
I think it. It actually did take off after partly pandemic. You could hear more birds, right because traffic was down, partly pandemic because you had more free time, and partly the Christian Cooper racial bird ensign. Oh yeah, of course everybody's like, oh, there's this cool black guy bird watching. Like, I guess bird watching might be.
Cool, right, It's something that people do and I can go do it anywhere.
Yeah. And we don't want to be the Karen. That's racist. He's a dog. We want to be the birdwatcher.
Yeah. It was ultimately just a reaction to this horrible woman.
Yes, reaction to the woman was tens of thousands more birdwatchers. They're like, we don't like racist Karen. We're going to watch birds.
We do love listening to bird sounds.
Sadly came full circle though, because they're changing eighty North American bird names due to problematic.
Eighty there's not many that had a problematic name. Oh that the bird world has got to take a look at itself.
They had they're doing that.
I mean, that's.
Exactly doing that. There was a group that formed right after that incident called Bird Names for Birds, and they were like, we can't keep having the Bewick's wren named after Nathaniel Bewick, who everybody knows fought Native Americans in seventeen eighty three. And so there was about seven problematic names associated. Unfortunately, Audubon is one of them.
Oh it is. Oh no, yeah, everything I know.
So the whole Audubon Society name is going to be changing anyway. There's about seven problematic names. And they were like, instead of auditing all eighty guys lives, we'll just change all the birds named after dudes.
Oh that's that's not a bad idea. And I feel like everything at this point should just change its name every ten years just to be safe, literally everything, because it feels like we would make things easier and it would be fun.
I agree with.
We all get to just pick new names for things. Yeah, you know, some guys who found something in sixteen hundred doesn't get to take control of the name for the rest of eternity.
And everybody discovered something in sixteen.
Hundreds, you've had to discover it's affair, and we get nothing.
We have nothing. You have to be a billionaire and put your name on a building, and that's gonna that's going to be condemned in one hundred years.
Anyway, that'll disappear. We should all everybody should get to name one thing that isn't something that they gave birth to.
A pet. Yeah, every ten years, all the animals' names change and everybody gets one animal.
How fun would that be? I mean it would be a lot of learning, but I mean it would keep our minds active. Yeah, I see no problem with it.
I see no issues.
I feel like somebody's just honking violently right now. Can you hear that on aalise Okay, it's not on Aalisea's car. None of our cars are currently being broken.
Into, probably my car rental.
The car alarm, I mean, not a great feature. I just ignore it.
Nobody has ever not ignored a car alarm. The only thing you do is you get annoyed and you wait for it to end. Nobody does anything. Nobody's active.
It's almost probably good for the thief.
The alarm goes off and the thieves like nobody's coming closer to this.
People really want to ignore this. It can go crazy here. Okay, Well, speaking of things being inappropriate, there's something else I'd like to talk to you about. Beautiful the podcast is called I said no gifts. I was really excited to have you here tonight. I thought, Joe's so funny. Well, he's in town, he's stopping by. We'll have a good time. So I was a little surprised. I was a little throne when you came walking up the driveway holding not one, but two gifts.
Yeah. No, I you said no gifts, but I was like, I really want to bring him gifts. I have trouble not giving gifts if it's my first time to a new house.
Sure, ye kind of hooked hooked on giving Yeah, okay, Well, I think just wanting to do something is a reason enough to do almost anything. I think if that's a good excuse for anything, I just wanted to do it, Well, should I open them here on the podcast?
Yeah, I would be open to that.
Well, there are two gifts, As I said, there's one that's like a larger box. And then there's one that's a thin you know, probably ten inches by ten inches. They're both wrapped in a beautiful Christmas wrapping paper with pickles wearing Santa hats and different disguises. Those are pickles, right, They.
Are pickles with a Santa hat and a mustache.
Yes, it's interesting, you know. I'm not quite sure what they has to do with Christmas, but maybe there's a push to associate pickles with Christmas.
I don't know what do they say with When you make a creative project, you do one for you and one for them.
Yes, right, this was one for the wrapping design.
I just meant for the presence. I got one for you to enjoy and one that I think I will.
Which one should I open first?
Well, let's give you the one that I think is just a just a gift that I thought is something that you could actually use and enjoy because it's something that I use and enjoy, and it's pure, just something I would give you for Christmas.
Oh great, I'm very excited gonna.
And I've bought I've bought six of these on Amazon so far.
Wait, oh my god, this looks great.
It is a shatsu massage with heat. With heat, you can go heat or no heat.
Where did you have you used one of these before?
I used one actively? In fact, sometimes I even travel with one because if you ever get that plane soreness, you just hit yourself with that Shiatsu massage.
Do you take this on the plane with you? I have, Yeah, And so it doesn't need a chord or anything. I'm not just like, I'm not even talking as though this is our podcast. It's just like, now I'm interested how this works.
You do need to plug it in.
Okay, you do need to plug it.
Airplanes have those?
Now, Oh that's true. That's very true. I mean that speaks to the flights I'm buying. Wow, this is very interesting. What so, do you have a lot of soreness or I do?
Okay, I and I just like massages, right, and if you go get your if you go get a professional massage, is like one hundred and fifty bucks.
Say again, this again speaks to the sort of massages I'm getting there. I'm paying about sixty dollars.
Well then they want you to tip.
Yes, but it's I mean still half of what you just said.
I guess New York is expensive.
Wow. Yeah, this is a free massage, free massage. How big do you put it? Behind your neck or your back or anything?
You can put it anywhere that's sore. I do legs, I'll do back, and I recommend putting a little towel over it to soften the blow.
Oh right, it's like a pretty intense massage.
So you can put as many towels over you want to make it whatever level you want.
Okay, And does it get pretty hot?
Yeah, you can turn the heat off.
Oh, you can turn the heat off. I like a nice hot, sweaty massage.
I've bought about five of these off Amazon. I've got about four Hemalayan salt lamps. So I'm really hitting the higgee. What do you call it the higgie?
Yeah, I think it's heigi, Yeah, HyGG e.
I love the haigie.
Yeah. Your apartment must be very cozy.
Oh well, I don't like to brag about it, but we've got Christmas lights up, we got massages, we got Himalayan salt lamps, we got little heating pads, lots of bird ornaments on the tree.
What does the salt lamp? What is it supposed thing?
You don't have a salt lamp.
I don't have a salt.
I should have got you as salt.
There's always another episode. We'll try to book one. Before you leave down, you get like an urgent email tonight.
Emily in Salt. Lamb is the best thing you can get on Amazon.
Are sincere right now here.
It's only nineteen dollars, it weighs about seventy pounds, it's pure salt. It has an amazing pink glow that'll just make any room glow in a nice, pink, comfortable glow. And then it says on there that it gives off it ionizes the air, which purifies the air. And then if you google that that is not at all ever happening. There's nothing about it that ionizes any air. There's no way that it is the most false advertisement, and yet everybody ignores it. Wow, everybody just wants the pink glow and they want the placebo effect of maybe it's ionizing the air.
Yeah, there's the off chance that all of science is wrong and that this thing is doing its job.
Just the off chance that it's purifying your air just makes it feel that much better to have it right.
I've heard the same thing about plants where like you're encouraged to buy them to purify the air in your home and everything online. Like any expert will be like, well, you would have to have literally a thousand plants in a ten by ten room before that even began to make a dent in the air.
Oh no, I have two plants. I assume that was doing it.
It's not doing I assumed he was doing it. You're expecting too much of your plants. So you've got salt lamp Scalore. You have how many of these massagers in your home?
I only have one in my home, but it's because they break every nine months, so you have to get a new one every nine months. It's Amazon. They're built to last for one year, and if you use it a lot, that means nine months, right.
I mean it has a lot of moving parts, it's hot, it's the pieces are probably melting. It's just self destructing. So that doesn't I mean, that's a huge surprise.
And I think they want it to break after one year so that you can buy it again.
Right, of course they want you to keep buying. What is that planned obsolescence? Is that? Am I saying that?
Right? That sounds like a disobedient child.
It's kind of technology. Yeah, the plan is for it to break down to buy a new one.
I think Apple might have gotten sued for that. Yeah. I think as certain things.
Like phone manufacturers are kind of the big target because they want you to buy a new phone every year or whatever.
Yeah, but I say we start protesting that strategy in the name of our environment.
I think that's not a bad idea. I mean, in the name of me not having to buy things again.
But I mean, this thing is just so good I have to I can't not.
You know, have you ever had a real Shiatsu massage?
Oh? The hot balls on your back?
Oh? Is that what it is? Yeah, I'm not familiar.
I think I have, and it's it's really hot. It's the one that leaves like the marks on your back.
Oh.
If it's what I'm thinking.
Of, right, yeah, wow. Yeah. I when I go to my as I mentioned, not that expensive of a massage place, I tell them a combo massage. I've never had a time massage or a Swedish massage, so I don't know what either means, but I ask for the combo. I probably should do any level of research into this, and there's probably what I would actually prefer.
Well, you could do one and then find out what it is.
I don't want to pay to find out. I want to go in with the knowledge. But the combo is just a nice riding the fence sort of thing. An hour, an hour, what do you do?
I love an hour?
Yeah, an hour feels like the perfect amount of time. I'd like to push in and see how it feels like an hour and a half. I wonder if you start to be like I need this to end.
Do you have a person?
No? Just whoever's there? Yeah, do you have a person?
No, they've never spoken English?
Oh? Sure, And it's the place near your house or did you? Is it like just out of convenience.
So it's out of convenience, right, Yeah.
I tried another one near here and they had a very dirty fish tank in the lobby and I should have known something was going on. Yeah, and it was a bad experience.
Wow, dirty fish tank means bad massage.
I feel like that's actually not a bad idea for every business. They should have a fish tank in the front and then you could tell if it's filthy or if the fish are dead, this is probably a bad business, or if it's sparkling. You're like, well that someone cares about someone here.
You're right. The best business people probably clean their fish tanks right regularly.
Unless they're only focusing on the fish tank and letting the business fall behind.
The business could argue, we're so focused on our business, that's why we let the fish tank fall behind.
Right Exactly, we're passionate about massage. We can't keep fish alive. I don't know that there's a chance, but in this particular situation, it was a huge red flag. Yeah, okay, so you're getting massage? Just goal or how often?
Oh? I was treating myself once a month to a professional massage. But since I've had old Victor Jurgen Shiatsu, I haven't really needed as many professional massages.
How has it cut down on your massages?
I would say I haven't had a professional massage in six months?
Oh wow, yeah, so maybe one a year at this point. How long are you using this tool? When you're using it?
Uh, I go, I like twenty twenty twenty five minutes?
Okay, yeah, okay.
But I'll transfer it over to my one leg to another. Lay I'll do my feet and.
What are you doing?
Lay down on it.
What are you doing while this is happening? Are you watching TV? Are you listening to white noise?
Ooh, A perfect relaxing moment is just listen to white noise. We're getting a massage. If you want to multitask, you could talk on the phone. Right If you want to relax while you're watching your favorite TV program mm hmm, I would recommend the Victor Jurgen SHOTSU during your favorite television program?
What sort of TV are you watching when you've got this thing running all over your body?
Uh? Lately? Well, it was something on Apple TV. It was the spy show Oh.
Slow Horses. Yeah, that feels like a good relaxing I haven't watched it, but I from what I can tell, it seems like not a ton of big thrills.
It was delightful. I'm sur I was impressed with how good it was. I was listening to a podcast about programs and this lady was saying that season two was the best program of this year.
Oh, you're kidding.
So I enjoyed it.
But like, as far as tone goes, I've gotten the impression that it's just like people like kind of low stakes. Is that not true?
I mean if low stakes is an entire city blowing up because of Russian.
KGB, I only deal with countries blowing up. That's I mean love. That is low stakes. You've got to blow up an entire population.
Main character is potentially dying or disappearing.
So it's exciting. Yeah, I guess the title is throws me off Slow Horses.
The title probably is why it's not a more well known show because I've mentioned it to people and they don't get excited about it, right, And it doesn't there's no horses in the show.
What does slow Horses even mean?
You find that in the first episode that it's about the people working in the UK. It's the James Bond UK people, but it's the rejects, okay, and the rejects work at a slough House, which I guess is I don't know why it's called slough It's a part of London called slough House. I'm not sure it's a street called Slough, right, And so the people that didn't make the cut or did something bad they go work at slough House use and basically because they don't want to fire them, they just have them go work over here. Right. As as the crappy people, and so this is focused on the people that are down and out working at and then a few times they make the reference about being slow horses.
Okay, okay, I almost feel like slough houses would have been a more exciting title.
Yeah.
People would have at least been like, what what are those words? What's that combination?
Slow house? Or what's the name of the British agents m I six? Yes? And are they call themselves m I five?
Oh?
Wait, who calls themselves am I five? The slow courses there I five? And what is am I one through four? Or is that also spies? Certainly those exists, right, I don't know.
I just are you am I six sounds correct? Am I four sounds correct? Maybe m I five isn't as it upgrade from m I four.
At least are there multiple m I s.
I'm looking up to see if there's the existence of a one through four. But I do know that the difference between five and six is five is intelligence within the UK and six is international.
Oh and James Bond, of course, he's a jet setter. WHOA Okay, it's am I obviously doesn't stand for Mission impossible. What does am I stand for?
Definitely could definitely stands for mission impossible.
It probably should. And again, speaking of changing names every ten years or probably coming up on a change there, let's change it to mission impossible. What does it mean?
It's military intelligence.
So how boring.
I mean they should have at least done majesty majesty important. Yes, that feels like it could have been a better title.
Oh, I was just we were thinking of a better title of slow horses. Is just like M I five or like reject m I Five's.
Right, but I mean I feel like there was that whole period of one twelve to twenty fifteen where it's like bad moms, bad this that would have worked. Yeah, that feels like a marketable title.
Military intelligence British.
Yeah, horrible spies.
I don't know, I mean bad spies anyway, Slow horses.
Slow horses. Okay, that feels like a good.
Massage, massage through slow horses.
Oh, I'm really excited to use this. I had to buy a heat pad for the first time of a couple of months ago. I like had hurt my back slightly and it was just everywhere with me. Okay, and now I mean it's wonderful feeling. Just have heat.
I'm amazed. I'm happy this is anything.
From that thing. So you can use this. I'm going to start hurting myself more often use these tools. No, I'm very excited about this. It's going to be all over my body. Let's just be honest. Okay, so very exciting. Should we get into the next thing.
Yeah, the next one. That the one for you, the one for me. This one was the one for me, okay, because I want you to you get into it, and you know you have something nearby that you might be able to get into it. Also, the bird seed thing, Oh led me this direction.
Let's see, I've got everything everything, It's back to birding. This is like little pamphlets, folding pocket guide to common backyard birds, so I don't even have to.
Leave my house exactly.
And then Birds of Southern California Habitat Seasons, Easy Field Identification, and this one's written by Greg R. Homel and the.
Other one Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Right.
Oh yeah, so that was the whole team.
Yeah, the whole team eBird dot org if you want to check them out.
Okay, so let's get back to birds. Then.
I didn't intend to start with birds, but I just happened to come from a bird place.
No, I think we should circle back to birds. What is your favorite bird?
Well, if you become a birdwatcher, every birdwatcher has what's called a spark bird.
Okay, just the.
Expression expression spark bird, it's it's a bird vocab. Your spark bird is the bird that gets you into bird. You see this bird and then.
You're down the rabbit hole, right, And what was yours for me?
Grants? And I was actively looking for my spark bird, so it was not an accident. And I just it was just a wonderful day in the ramble bird sanc Stuary. And this British dude was sitting by a creek waiting on a bird. I was like, what are you? What are you looking for? He's like the first northern parula of the year has come to Central Park and around the afternoon time it comes down to this little creek and so I'm waiting for it to get a good photo. And I was like, northern parula, okay. And then it was like multiple people started gathering, like everybody knew it was going to come to the creek at like two pm, and so like there's like eight people waiting there, and I'm new brand noted. I'm just looking to get into Birdie. I'm like, I hope this works, you know. And so I'm just sitting there with these people and lo and behold this sweet, little cute, little blue and gold warbler type of bird comes down to the creek and starts bathing itself just as close as you are to me. Oh my god, bathing itself, you know, really doing a show for us. And these two older ladies next to me, one of them goes, oh, Doris, You'll never get to see apparel this close again. This is a once in a lifetime look at a Perila and her friend goes, I don't know, you might get to see one this close again. Nope, this is the closest you'll ever see it. She's like, no, no, no, you could see peril is as close.
That's what a physical impossibility that might happen. Again.
Yeah, they were having just the hilarious back and forth.
How did people know it was coming at two o'clock?
I guess you know it had arrived early to Central Park because that's one of the fun things is you get a wave of the whole species comes through for a few days in the spring and the first of all the perils had arrived. And I guess three days in a row it had come down to this creek, wow, to bathe.
And how did they know it's the first one? How does any of this work? This is so mysterious to me. Somebody just keeping track of like all over the park looking for the bird.
So yeah, in the spring, that's when it gets rough. That's when it's hype time, right, okay, because the all the non local birds migrate through and they're in town for about five days, and they all come through at different times, and they all come through as like a wave or a flock, I guess, but some of them arrival a little early, and I guess. You know, it just goes around like like the telephone game. All the orders know what's going.
On, right, They're keeping each other updated.
They hear, Oh, there's the flacco the owl is in Strawberry Fields right now. And then within thirty seconds, somehow everybody in New York City knows that Flocco is in Strawberry.
When something when that news breaks, are people like running to get there.
There's the photographer bird people. Oh those people are running.
Wow. The different layers of birds.
The photography bird people is a whole different type of breed, right, I mean they just want those sweet, sweet photos.
They may not even care about the birds.
There's a few they might not. There's a few photography guys in Central Park that just look like they're just on a day job grind. Wow, they're like blue collar. Yeah, we just you know, trying to get there's a great hornell. Well, you know I got the I got the bunting in in the Times a week ago. That was pretty good.
So they're just in it for the money.
There, there's a couple jobbers.
I mean it's very paparazzi.
Yeah. So spark bird was my Northern parallel?
Can I I want to look this up? Will you tell me how to spell in s P A r K.
Like a spark oh parallel?
Yeah.
So I've heard it pronounce northern Perula and I've heard it pronounce parallel, but it's p.
A r U l a okay, northern Okay. Oh my god, it's so cute.
That's cute little bird, right, Yeah, look at that. It's a sweet, little cute, little beautiful color. It looks like it could be a grandmother.
Yeah, very sweet and some you know, I like a nice little round bird.
It's a round bird, a little like golf ball. The little the little round birds are my favorites. I like shore birds, I like raptors, but you give me a little round bird. That's what gets me pumped up.
Right, do you have a least favorite bird?
Uh?
Least favorite bird? Blue jays have a bad rap, their bullies, and they make a weird sound.
Oh what sort of sound do they make?
They just make an ugly call, like a screech. Yeah, okay, that's not my least favorite, least favorite bird. I mean, I don't have I don't have the.
Least I want you to nail it down. I want to smear a bird.
I guess. I guess I'll guess since I thought of it first, I'll say the blue jay. They're bullies. They chase away the owls and I want to see the owl.
Wow. I mean that's incredible.
They have the ugly call. Do a blue jay call? Pull it up.
Okay, let's see.
You're not gonna you're you're gonna be on board. When you hear the blue jack jay. People think it's a crow, but it's a blue jaw.
Let's seem let's see. Okay, we've got YouTube here. Oh yeah, a least is that it?
That's it?
Oh and I'm getting a commercial. I'm just getting a new way to play. Let's see. There you go, that's a blue YouTube premium. Oh my god, I'm so I'm watching a thing for Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm so mad all these premium so in seconds, I had another thirty seconds to watch this video game ad.
You're living in You're living in an LA mansion, and you're and you're watching seven minutes of YouTube bags.
Well that is I mean, I appreciate a scary bird call, especially when that's scaring away an owl, because I feel like owls should be scaring away everything else.
The owls are sweet little bird they sleep beer in the day, but the blue jays swarm them and they want them out of there because I guess an owl will occasionally, I guess maybe eat a baby blue jay. Oh right, right, But blue jays have the screeching call, and then they got the bullies. But they're also a beautiful looking bluebirds.
So do magpies eat baby animals? Magpies, yeah, baby birds. I feel like there's a bird that eats baby things other than owls.
I think mongoose does. A honey badger for sure.
Two beautiful birds I don't know. Those are both my spark birds bad I don't know what a bird is. That's the reveal in this podcast.
But California has more birds than New York, so you're in a good spot.
More birds like per capita.
You have more species out here.
Oh interesting, yeah, interesting, But the state's huge. Of course we do. But that doesn't feel like a week.
Well that's true.
Maybe on average.
I just think the West Coast has a few more extra species.
Maybe because it's a more pleasant environment, sure, I think so.
Yeah.
Do magpies steal shiny objects? Is that true?
Yeah? So anybody in the corvid family. You got your crows, your ravens, your magpies, all those are really smart birds. And there's lots of stories, of course about people giving them treats and then they return with treats for the person. Oh I don't know that. And they've learned to bring shiny objects to people. Oh yeah, And there's a story about one person got a twenty dollars bill and gave it an even bigger reward, and then that crow has just brought them cash over the years.
That can't possibly be true.
Hey, it's on the social media. It's gotta be true.
This bird is stealing from people.
Well, I want to know if it's stealing from people, or if there's just that much cash out in the world.
Or it got a job. I mean, we don't know what it's doing when it's going to get the cash.
That's a great point.
Yeah, let's let's give that bird the benefit of the doubt. Okay, well you know magpies gets Oh my other question, and you are I'm sorry to just treat you like an absolute bird X the gift you certainly no more than I do.
I brought the gifts, So I'm and I just went bird watching, So it's on me.
This is all your fault. The category of birds you just told me are all smart. But one of them, is it the raven? That's like almost as smart as a chimpanzee or something?
Yeah, I mean I don't know the exact but I know that they're shown to use tools and solve puzzles. Oh wow, and they recognize human faces. Can you imagine? Can you imagine recognizing a raven's face?
I barely recognize human faces. I'm very bad at it.
The ravens and the crows will remember you specifically.
Wow.
That's they'll be able to call you out in the crowd. Out in the crowd, caw. Wow.
That's uh. We should use them for uh something.
Military sorry, pro military podcast.
I'm always looking for new ways to kind of do war. And so if we could get more birds, I mean war, I'm very pro war, but regardless of you know, I'll go to war for anything. Yeah, I mean, even if it's just to get more birds working. I think that's the number one reason I want.
To go to the economy going yes, yeah, I mean.
Carrier pigeons were used during.
Yeah, apparently like one hundred thousand of them, one hundred thousand. There was a carrier pigeon that got a purple heart World War One?
What do you know its name? How do you know this and not know the bird's name? Get on this maybe, I mean it might have been part of the time when people didn't care.
I want to say a one hundred thousand caro pisions were used during World War One. Wow. Can you imagine instead of using a telephone, you just gotta just fly to your bird I.
Wonder how, Yeah, like, what are the chances that actually gets to its destination? They must be decent, but they can't be great.
I want to say they would send like three with the same note and then hopefully one gets through.
Wow, I would I want there to be a study on the efficiency of that compared to throwing a message in a bottle into the ocean, which is the better form of communication.
I was ignorant for a long time. I was like, how does the pigeon know where it's supposed to go?
I mean.
That it's got to fly to Germany to a specific guy in Germany? What is happening here? And finally I learned that they are specifically returning to their home. Oh, so you have to raise you basically have to raise a pigeon in this military base, right, and then you have to take it with you out into war flying home.
Okay, So it's not gonna be able to come back.
So I don't think it can come back. Oh okay, but this, you know, I have limited knowledge on that, but I do know that they're flying. They're good at flying home.
Good at flying home?
Well is that what they're called?
Oh?
Interesting?
Interesting? That makes sense.
They're really good at flying home and if you want to do some extracurriculars. They still don't know for sure why birds are so good at Like you could put a bird in a black box and take it from its home and take it to the other side of the world and it would You could let it out of the box and it would fly right back home.
It would be able to at least try, like some of.
Them are good at just going right back home. And they're like, we do not know how it's figuring out where to go. Wow, So something about like they could have sensors for a magnetic field. It's right, I mean, there's possibilities, but they actually don't know for sure how they're done it.
And what a psycho experiment to do this to birds, putting them in a black box across the world and be like, let's see what happens. Show us your stuff. That's wild. That can't be allowed anymore.
If you put a human in a black box and took them the other side of the world, I wouldn't make it one hundred yards.
That's the amazing race as far as I know. Yeah, I've watched a little bit of that show and had a good time.
Is that the one with your spouse?
Yeah, that's like with a partner. Sometimes it's a couple. Actually, yeah, I think they might have themes. I feel like sometimes it's like a parent and a child and then you just watch them fight with each other.
How many divorces happen on TV?
I mean countless. The amazing race has probably destroyed so many homes. Yeah, just ruined lives. Okay, Well, so I'll take these little things with me to Deb's Earnesty Debs Park and then I just wait around.
You.
You can go on a walk, right, Walking's part of it, and then you just keep your eyes open for birds a little. It's like it's like adding a little treasure hunt to your walk.
Oh yeah, that's a nice way of looking at it.
And really you want to just stare at the bird, take the bird in and remember the bird, and then later you want to come back to this little pamphlet and be like, what was that bird?
Oh, rather than rather.
Than looking down at the pammeblet, looking back up at the bird, because by the time you look back up, bird's gonna be gone.
Well, I want to see a spotted towhee. That's a gorgeous little bird. Ye, and maybe that'll be my spark bird. We like the bullocks oriole Oh.
If you can see a bullock's oriel, I mean that's a good that's a good week.
That thing is pure gold, a gorgeous animal bird. H Okay, well I'm going to use these. I'm going to try. I don't need binoculars at least to start.
No on that.
On that hike, I went on, you get a lot of birds that will just hop along the trail or sit down and branches close by. Binoculars help though, But but but I don't want to put pressure on you to get binoculars. Right.
Well, that could be the next Hopefully.
Somebody will bring you binoculars as a gift.
Someone brought me binoculars, but it's a hidden flask, so it's not a binocular. So that's but we're getting closer, we're inching towards.
You could definitely get drunk on the automate track.
I could just stumble around the park looking for birds.
And unfortunately you won't have real binoculars.
Screaming that I want to see the towhee. Okay, well, this is wonderful, thank you. I think we should play a game. Okay, we're playing Gift for a Curse right on a Lise. I love just the con information from on a Lease that I'm doing the right thing. You need that sometimes you need that little bit of support. I need a number between one and ten from you.
Am I trying to trick you? No, I mean if you want to, well, I guess I'm telling you the numbers, so it's not much of a trick.
Any number between one and ten. We go with three, okay, I have I'm using that to do some calculating to get our game pieces. So right now you can promote something, recommend something, do whatever you want with the microphone. I'll be right back.
Well, I'm in La partly to promote my new comedy special, which is out now for free on YouTube. If you have YouTube Premium so Analise can watch it for free, You're gonna have to watch it with ads. It's called Cult Classic, and I apologize because I know you're tired of could stuff. It's called cult Classic. I talk a little bit at the end about Vinixium Cult Documentary, and I do some aff I do some positive affirmations where I sort of feel like a cult leader at one point. But I'm sorry to offend you so deeply with something that you have to watch ads for and it's about cults. Hor you don't support YouTube, you don't support anything involving cults. Here, I am trying to start a new cult with my comedy special and you're just against it from the get go.
No, you're the last word. You're the last word on cults. Let's say that.
No, I'm not pro cults, and the Comedy Specials is probably more about birds and it is about cults. For being honest, there's really little. There's not that much to do. The cult classic was supposed to be a reference to the movies that are cult classics, right. I was thinking this would this comedy special would get off to a slow start and then catch Team Leader. Is more of my attitude that it's.
A good expectation for anything.
Thank you.
Just imagine it'll be a cult classic and then it becomes a blockbuster. Change the name, and.
If it becomes a slow start, you can be like, well, it's good. It's got legs.
Yeah, yeah, it's got legs. And when things have legs, people talk about that all the time. This thing has mate, it's got great legs. It's going forever.
Yeah, it didn't jump out of the game, but it's got legs.
Because it's good and people appreciate it.
That's right.
Well, it says Princess Bride is one Shashank Redemption. Wait, Shoshank Redemption is considered a cult not a cult classic, Isn't it certainly not? Well you wish like a cult I don't know.
But Shank hit right off the gate.
That seems like it would have been a big hit. It seems like as a big as big movie stars.
Here's one for it. It's a wonderful life. Wasn't considered a success until thirty years after it came out.
Oh no, so that's just a full bomb.
That's true.
If you go thirty years, Yeah, people have forgotten.
If you go thirty years, if not successful at that point, you've just like died.
Yeah exactly. Everyone involved is probably dead, dead and sad about it. Yeah. I feel like for it to become a cult classic, at least one person has to be alive when it becomes successful.
Yeah, Okay, the Fight Club is considered a cult class.
Oh that's true. That's yeah. Now I feel like it's become such a thing that. Yeah, what happens when something becomes such a big part of culture that it no longer feels cultish. That's I mean, we ask important questions.
Yeah, we need, we need, we need a new word, a new English word for a late blockbuster.
Right, yeah, interesting, Well whatever, we've got to play the game. I have to I have to recommend. Well, this isn't even a recommendation. I've been told certainly, well not certainly. It was actually a nice email that the network wants me to read to your listener. And it says, feel free to put in your own words, but I don't want to do that. This will I'll just read it to you. It says, if you listen to I said no gifts. On the Apple Podcasts app there are a few changes with the new iOS seventeen update. Apple has paused downloads on podcasts. If your phone is running out of storage, or if you haven't listened in a while, be sure there's available space so you can continue to receive weekly episodes and listen regularly so you don't miss new shows. Head over to Apple Podcasts and click the follow but get your phone cleaned up. Well, that that feels judgmental and new episodes will be automatically downloaded each week. So I guess that's just some business business about phones and updating.
And I'm a Spotify boy. So that went all right over my head.
You could barely understand what I was saying. There's another language. Wow. So the thing I recommend this week is just tech advice. I mean, horrible, horrible feeling. This is how we play Gift or a Curse. I'm gonna name three things. You're gonna tell me if there're a gift or a curse and why, and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong. Because there are correct answers, you can lose the game. This sort of thing. Okay, This first one is a listener suggestion from someone named Diana. Gift or a Curse, alcohol free listerine, Sir.
I was just feeling bad because I had plugged accidentally, said Spotify, and maybe this was an Apple It's not okay.
It's this podcast everywhere?
Okay? Cool? I mean I didn't want to like hurt your Apple sponsorship.
No, I wish Apple reach out. No, this is available. You know, we always do the ads where you have to be like wherever you get your podcasts, which is. Yeah, I guess there are a billion different places to get a point.
Well a billion, I don't know what a billion.
Well, if you want to fight about it, I'm happy to. I'm in a bad mood. You like war, I do like war. I'm very violent.
So the game is somebody writes in a thing.
Uh.
Most of these are listener suggestions at this point, just a list of things. You have to tell me if it's a gift or a curse and why?
Is there a correct answer?
Yes, okay, you weren't listening to me at all.
No, I wasn't. I was worried about saying spotacy.
Well I appreciate that. Okay, So, but you understand the rules of the game. Now you're going to tell me if it's a gift or a curse and why, and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong.
And there's a correct answer. I'm not supposed to make up my own answer.
You have to.
You have to.
I'm not telling you anything else. You just have to give me your answer.
This first thing is feeling I'm gonna lose this game.
I don't know. You might win, all right, there's only a few people have wonky, Okay, So Diana. The listener has written in and suggested gift or a curse alcohol free listerine.
Call free listerine. I'm gonna say it's a it's a curse to the people that are addicted to the listerine alcohol or curse to the alcoholics. It's a gift to the pharmacies they don't have to worry about their listerine being stolen.
But for you, what is your final answer?
Well, I think it's a bit of a catch twenty two. There's no listerine without alcohol. That's that's what's burning off the The bad stuff is the alcohol. So I'm gonna say alcohol free listerine is not listerine, and therefore it's curse wrong. This is who me?
Okay, the person who's right?
Well, now I know, now I know who has the correct answers.
It's again I change. Look, do I like it?
No?
I need the alcohol burning my teeth and my gums and my tongue to know. But you know, I guess some people don't want alcohol in their listerine. They're giving them options.
Well, then you're just drinking mint water.
Well, sometimes you just need some mint water, and maybe it's better to swallow, drink a whole thing of that. Then you know your your whole throat smells better.
We have some herbal mint tea. Why are you messing around with listerine? You can have herbal mint tea.
Because you've bought the story, that's why. And now we've got options for the whole family. Okay, can children drink alcohol the stine? Well, you're not drinking that, You're you're swishing it around.
I think it's bad for their little mouths.
Yeah, it probably burns a little mouse. Okay, so you have got you got one wrong so far, and that's fine. Number two this is from someone named Nikolai. Gift your curse when people try to talk to you while taking care of business in a public restroom.
Oh, obviously, a curse is the best friend. Why. I want privacy when I use the restroom, and the opposite of privacy is somebody talking to me in the same room as me.
So you're saying curse, I'm saying curse. You obviously get the point is a curse. No, it's weird to me that people that anyone enjoys doing that, like and sometimes you know people I know and have loved for years will see a movie and then we both use the restroom after and they start talking to me, and it's it just makes me think, Oh, we are such different people. I don't want to say a word. I just need to be left alone.
They want they want to talk about the movie, probably right.
They want to sometimes not even a movie, they just want to talk about something, and I can't focus. Yeah, I'm thinking about all kinds of things. I'm thinking about using the bathroom, I'm thinking about whatever they're saying. And I'm also thinking about why them talking to me using the restaurant. Yea, So my mind is everywhere.
Probably hurts the friendship.
Oh, I mean, it's certainly like the trust is eroded. Certainly. Okay, well, you've gotten one so far. You have one more to try. Here, let's see here. What wait, what have I done with the document? I've destroyed the document. This is you know, this is a rough version of this game, and this is my faults. It's okay, here we go. Oh this is interesting. This is kind of related to what we just said. This is from a listener named Ali Gift to a curse assigned movie theater seating.
But well in the assigned movie theater is seating. You get to pick your seats right right, So you're assigning it to yourself.
Yes, it's a little self assignment.
I you know what I've done both. The assigned seating sounds nice, but I like just finding my seats. I like finding the assigned setting is just one more button you gotta click on your way to and in a movie. I want less friction to get into my movie. So I'm gonna say, curse.
Oh, what a horrible way to end the game. It's a gift. There's nothing wrong with that. I it's incredible showing up to a movie theater and having to stand in line and then having to panic the rush to find a seat, and then who knows what's going to happen. That feels like, I mean, when are you going into a movie theater you can't find barbaric?
When have you ever not found a seat?
Yeah? But when you like, when it gets to desperate, you're in front row.
Yeah, on a sign seating you can get front row too.
Not if you've use like ten seconds of a day and just think ahead.
You're saying you go on earlier that day.
Yeah, I mean, what you're getting on this thing? Right before you head to the theater.
I do it the same way I do without the assigned seating, and do it last moment.
Well that's the problem, okay.
I like that you're thinking ahead and you're planning ahead, and you're getting the good seats, so you want.
Yeah. I don't do a lot of planning ahead or thinking ahead, but this, to me is fairly easy to do. And then I'm calm and I get to go and be in an at least kind of decent seat. But I guess I could see why people wouldn't like it. Well not, Actually I can't, and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna back up on this. I think that they should all be assigned seating.
I've just never gone into a movie theater and been unhappy with the scene I got.
Wow, incredible. Maybe that's because you have standards. Maybe you need to treat yourself better.
Not a bad seat in the house. That's what I say every single theater I go to it. There's not a bad scene in this house. You can be in the way back, you're still getting a great view.
Do you know what I think? One reason I like assigned movie theater seating is that Utah, where I'm from, started this sort of thing very early on. I think it was one of the Earth, so I think we were all conditioned to assigned theater seating. So I it's just an It comes very naturally to me. And you were just in Utah, just in Salt Lake City. Was it your first time there.
I've been a couple of times to Salt Lake City. I got to open for Nate Bargazzi at the Utah Jazz Arena.
So you're kidding me. The ten thousand cedar that used to be called the Delta Center, it's the Delta Center. It's back to the Delta Center. It was like a nuclear waste facility center at one point.
It's apparently it's back to the Delta Center.
It's called the Energy Solutions Arena's back to Delta. Good.
Yeah, great. And met Dorny Ainge, the manager, the general manager of the Utah Jazz Wow. I met Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah. Oh my boy. I hung out twice at Spencer Cock.
You have the other place.
He came out to a show. I did a Wise Guys in Jordan Landing. I had fried chicken with him at the Governor's mansion.
As far as I know, I'm not on board with Spencer Cox.
I've heard that he's a liberal moderate conservative.
Is that well, I don't like the sound of that. That's nothing.
But he's a sweet man. I don't know it's politics.
But you're having fried chicken with him.
I think you might like his I think you might like his politics. I think he's one of those conservatives that's like, very very pro stuff.
Okay, like, Spencer, don't reach out. I'm not going to look into.
My boy, Spencer reach out.
Wow, you've You've just hit a lot of Utah spots that I'm familiar with. That's very interesting.
Yeah, Jordan Landing Utah Jazz stayed at the I can't remember the name. Sorry, nice the nice hotel near the airport.
Not far from the airport was the Grand America.
Yes, that one.
Oh, that place is beautiful, beutiful. Once I had a friend who worked there as like a bellboy or whatever. This was fifteen years ago, and he led us into the room of like an NBA coaches, like an opposing team was there and the NBA coaches staying in that room. And we went into the room while he is there, which feels illegal.
Wow.
So that's just something about the Grand America. Uh, that's an interesting fact.
Do you you from Salt Lake?
I'm from right outside of Salt Lake. Which South Jordan.
Which South Jordan?
Yes, because Jordan Landing is West Jordan.
Nice South Jordan.
All right, a lot of Utah geography. But you've only been to Utah twice.
I've been. I've been four or five times.
Oh wow, you're hooked.
Yeah, I like it.
And you've seen Spencer two out of five times.
I've seen Spencer three times. Oh no, I wrote in the Governor's I wrote in a security Vehicle life.
What is your relationship to Spencer Cox?
Close personal friends? We've onund out three times, close personal friends. He told me the story about he was in charge of You remember when COVID hit. The day COVID hit and it was the Utah Jazz fault. You remember that?
Know what?
Remember the first time COVID went, like March twelfth, it was a big itk became a big deal in the US.
Yeah.
It was when Rudy Gobert for the Utah Jazz touched a bunch of microphones, was making a joke about COVID.
Oh, I forgot about that.
And then it turned out he did have COVID and he gave it to his teammates and then and then his teammate was real who they already didn't like each other, got COVID and then they wouldn't even speak to each other. And this was the moment, like March twelfth, when it was like, okay, maybe it's a problem. Right, we're canceling NBA, We're canceling the NBA and uh. And then they had to they were at an away game that was an away game that they got COVID, and so they had to fly back to Utah, and nobody wanted to fly them back, like because they had COVID, which might have all been the plague. I'm surprised. I never thought about driving back. But uh, Spencer Cox was the one who had the organ and eye them on two different airplanes alone. They flew alone on two different airplanes because they wouldn't fly together.
Wow, waste of money.
And they had to find two pilots that were willing to do it. Wow, And they got it somehow got them back to Salt Lake City that was ground zero.
Wow.
But he was apparently in charge of that hold the boggle before he was governor.
That's when he was a travel agent.
Yes, yes, he was a Delta pilot.
Okay, uh, you basically lost the game one out of three.
You're just mad at me because I'm boys of Spencer Cox.
And you're blaming the Jazz for all of these things. Those are my boys, that's jazz. I was a big Jazz fan in sixth grade. Probably they were like very good at one point, and I was happy with him. Then I need to get back into it though.
That was during Carl Malone days.
Yeah, and John Johnson stocked and losing to Michael Oh. Yes, just constantly smashed by the Chicago Bulls.
But that is a good time, good.
Time, very good time. We need to answer a listener question. This is the final segment of the podcast. It's called I said no emails. People write in, they've got questions. We answer them. Every one of my listeners' lives is absolutely perfect. But they write in anyway because they need to support the podcast, and that's why they do it. So we answer their questions.
Beautiful.
These their lives are beautiful. We help me answer a question. Sure, Okay, this is hybridger and guest and on a lease, I have a pet peeve, and I'd like you to tell me if I'm being unreasonable. It really annoys me when someone is a native English speaker and currently speaking English but randomly says certain words like you would in the original language, slash, accent or the or their interpretation of the original language. A few examples, and now it's actually I'm warning everyone I have to pronounce these words like they want me to, So I apologize Mexico instead of just Mexico, cross croissant instead of just croissant, and mozzarel instead of just mozzarella. I feel so uncomfortable even doing that. I mean, it's excruciating to clarify I am not including when people are speaking any of these languages or are native speakers of these languages. Am I unreasonable to let this annoy me? Thank you for your advice, Amy, What do we think it annoys?
It annoys me?
Yeah, this is what I'm going to say to begin, at least to open the conversation. Amy is absolutely being unreasonable, and I support her.
Yeah, because basically she's saying, you got to be American, you got to talk American, and be American.
I mean this, it's obviously an unreasonable response to someone just pronouncing a word correctly. But everyone I've ever known that's done it was a deeply annoying person. Yes, why are we saying quissant?
And or the president?
I'll just the way the president does.
That's not the last president, but the Democratic presidents.
The Democratic president currently.
They any any any word that's that's from a different culture, they'll pronounce it in the correct way.
Okay, because I guess that's kind of maybe as a politician. Politician, yeah, a worldwide figure, you kind of have to world But if you're like ordering something off the menu at Chipotle and you're really going for the pronunciation, unless you're a native speaker of the language, it feels like you're doing too much work on at least that's how you're feeling.
Yes, Although my biggest gripe is inconsistency. I used to be a manager of a lapanqu in Brentwood, Okay, right, and I know that these people who are bending over backwards to say quassant are not sayingthilla and that he feels extremely racist. So to me, if the person is being very consistent acrossible, like I want to meet the person who is saying who nails everyone yeah and mazar, that person does not exist.
They only will do it for French words. And that's the thing that pisses me off. So good point, excellent point. I mean, and it's also confusing because we'll say things like keesadia, which is pretty close to the pronunciation, but then other Spanish words we don't.
But we know.
I think we all know the sort of person we're talking about here that went to France once and is suddenly the expert on one pastry.
I mean, I can't. I don't have a person in my life that says croissant. I know they're out there, they are out there.
Are they out there? Oh, they're certainly out there. I'm there's someone in your life and they're gonna start talking to you in the bathroom and they're gonna say quessant and you're gonna be shocked about the whole interaction.
Yeah, I guess, So what are the main I would be curious what the main words are that are the top annoying words?
Is just croissant, that's definitely. I think that's probably number one. I mean, when you're saying Mexico. That feels wild. Yeah, I mean, because it's just like what I mean unless people. Yeah, and again it's this exact person. Uh and Mozarell. I don't even know if I'm pronouncing that. I mean, I'm not Italian. It's horrifying. I mean, Amy, Yes, you're being unreasonable. We're all being unreasonable. It's just the way people pronounce words. But they need to cut it out.
They need to speak speak, learn Americ. You know what I'm saying.
I mean, this is and this will be the final word if we don't have to keep talking about this. But think about some French person is not cutting out their accent to say hamburger. You know, they're not hitting a hard hamburger. They're gonna They're still saying it with a French accent.
Yeah, they're saying cheeseburger royal.
Yes exactly. Amy, You've gotten your answer. I feel like we answered that perfectly.
Yeah, we're with you, Amy, We're with you, Amy, and.
We're against And again this goes back to my kind of pro war thing. I'm looking spark more war. So we've answered the.
Question a very offended right now.
Yeah, they're freaking out they're taking up arms.
I was a person that's like I also said, Totilla, you don't know me.
Wow, I've gotten these beautiful gifts, useful gifts. They could change everything for me.
It's the holiday season.
Bless you. I've had such a wonderful time with you here me as well. This is the end of the podcast. Thank you for being here, Joe. Listener, go find a special and listener to the podcast. I think I just said is over. So I hope you heard me the first time. Get out of here. I love you, goodbye. I said. No Gifts is an exactly right production. It's produced by our dear friend Analise Neilson, and it's beautifully mixed by Ben Holliday. And we couldn't do it without our guest booker, Patrick Kottner. The theme song, of course, could only I'm from Miracle Worker Amy Man. You must follow the show on Instagram. At I said no Gifts, I don't want to hear any excuses. That's where you get to see pictures of all these gorgeous gifts I'm getting. And don't you want to see pictures of the gifts?
And I invited you hear Thunta made myself perfectly clear. But you're a guest to my home. You gotta come to me empty, and.
I said, no guests, you're our presences, presents, and I already had too much stuff. So how do you dare to survey me
