10-03-25 - Waiter Announced His Pronouns To John's Table Confusing Everyone / Ozzy Pyramid 2003 BO

Summary

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Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Arizona's #1 Morning Radio Show

Episode: 10-03-25 – Waiter Announced His Pronouns To John's Table Confusing Everyone / Ozzy Pyramid 2003 BO
Date: October 3, 2025
Host: John Holmberg with Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, Dick Toledo
Special Segment Guest: Ozzy
Summary by Podcast AI

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Episode Overview

This episode opens with a comedic and candid discussion among the Holmberg crew about the cultural confusion and awkwardness surrounding pronoun usage, sparked by a recent restaurant experience. The team then launches into a lighthearted game, "Ozzy Pyramid," themed around St. Patrick's Day and all things green, featuring their resident Englishman "Ozzy" as the cluegiver.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Pronoun Dilemma: Humor & Social Commentary (01:11–07:59)

• Awkwardness when service workers announce pronouns:
  John recounts being startled when his waiter introduced himself by pronouns, leading to a larger comedic exploration of how to navigate pronoun etiquette in everyday life.

• Perceived contradictions in LGBTQ+ visibility:
  John jokes about how those advocating for equality also introduce themselves with pronounced visibility—“You want to be left alone but wave this giant, bright flag and announce your pronouns.” (01:22, John Holmberg)

• Confusion and pressure around correct usage:
  The crew expresses confusion over remembering and using various pronouns, which leads to a stream of jokes about how easy it is to "screw up" and the perceived minefield of modern dining etiquette.

• Strategies and workarounds:
  They jokingly debate using generic terms like “boss,” “chief,” or sticking strictly to names to avoid misgendering.

  “It's a massive setup for failure. And you want to tell the manager, ‘Hey, I don't need to know his pronouns. I don't care about his personal life.’”
  —John Holmberg (03:27)

• Cultural observations:
  John notes cultural variation in pronoun enthusiasm, joking about specific Phoenix neighborhoods being more likely to display this behavior (04:36–05:06). He points out the added challenge for cooks with language barriers.

• Generational differences in salutations:
  The crew riff on “boss,” “chief,” “bruh,” and “my man,” reflecting on how older, simpler terms (“sir”) have faded, replaced by more casual or performative greetings.

  “Sir was nice. The old generations had it right. Hello, sir—that was a nice—that's gone.”
  —John Holmberg (07:11)

2. Icebreaker Banter: Names and Nicknames (06:10–08:19)

• The rise of casual monikers:
  They bemoan being called “bruh,” “boss,” or “my man,” and joke about which nicknames suit each of them best, culminating in a riff about being called “pirate” as an oddly positive outlier.

  “Bruh’s my thing. I get bruhed a lot, and I hate it... I’m an adult, you know that, right?”
  —John Holmberg (06:44)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On Pronouns in Service:

  “I've had that happen before where people will say, ‘Hi, my name's Kevin, he/him.’”
  —John Holmberg (02:12)

  "It's check, please, because I know I'm gonna screw up."
  —Braden (03:22)

• On Uncomfortable Nicknames:

  “You’re built for boss... I get bruh. Bruh’s my thing. I get bruhed a lot, and I hate it.”
  —John Holmberg (06:44)

  “Sir was nice. The old generations had it right.”
  —John Holmberg (07:11)

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Segment: The Ozzy Pyramid Game (09:20–15:41)

• Premise:
  Ozzy (in his signature English accent and comedic persona) is the clue-giver in a fast-paced, St. Patrick’s Day-themed game inspired by the classic "Pyramid" format. Contestants call in and pick categories like "Green Things" or "St. Patrick’s Day Items."

• Highlight Moments:

  • Game chaos and hilarity:
    Ozzy’s clues are over-the-top and sometimes unclear, leading to a mix of comically correct and wildly off-target guesses.

    Ozzy: “Don’t get him angry. He starts tearing the place up. You can’t do anything about it.”
    Patrick (confused): “Bring the pecans?”
    (12:07–12:08)

  • Contestant confusion as Ozzy’s accents and clues bewilder all:

    “Oh, he's just so Reverend Angry. ... Oh, it was the Incredible Hulk again, I’m sorry. I ran out of clues.”
    —Ozzy (13:22–13:51)

  • Self-aware humor:

    Ozzy: “I'm adding that to the list, though. That is a good one, Tom.” (13:51)

  • Recurring green-related answers:
    Participants guess green beer, green puke, green clover, leprechaun, and Incredible Hulk, with coaching and encouragement from the hosts.

  • Meta-jokes about the game's difficulty:

    “The clues are there. The clues are absolutely there. I don’t know if that wasn’t Ozzy’s fault, was it? No, not at all.”
    —Patrick (15:46)

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Prize Giveaways & Community Engagement (15:41–16:17)

• Listeners who score in the Ozzy Pyramid game win tickets to concerts (Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, Systematic, Stereo Mud, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park).
• The hosts hype up the local radio scene and encourage listeners to call in for their chance.

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Conclusion

Tone & Takeaway:
As always, Holmberg’s Morning Sickness blends irreverent, quick-witted banter with subtle social critique and lighthearted audience interaction. The episode delivers a comical look at evolving social norms, especially regarding pronouns and greetings, mixed with the show’s trademark games and community prizes. The chemistry between the hosts and their willingness to laugh at themselves and pop culture keeps listeners engaged and entertained.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode:

• Expect laughs as the crew tackles the confusion around pronouns in the wild.
• Enjoy Ozzy’s over-the-top St. Patrick’s Pyramid game, even if the clues sometimes make no sense at all.
• Get a playful slice-of-life from Arizona’s most popular rock radio morning crew, brimming with local color, sarcasm, and the odd pirate reference.

Transcript

[Braden]

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[John Holmberg]

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[Braden]

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[John Holmberg]

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[Braden]

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[John Holmberg]

Gay marriage, gay rights. We were fine with that. That was supposed to be a big deal. They lit the White House up in rainbow colors, just sitting there waiting for us to lose our minds. And we didn't. I mean, a few people were like, well, this is gay.

[Patrick]

And we're like, yep.

[John Holmberg]

Well, I don't even have a word to make this funny. They're doing that on purpose. But the gay thing, you guys take advantage of that, you LGBTQers, you're always announcing it. You always. You always say, we want to be left alone. We want to just be able to do what we want. Then you wave this giant bright red, pink, blue, yellow, orange, this flag and start screaming, I'm a homosexual. He, him, her. Like, what the hell? I thought you wanted to be like. You wanted to blend.

[Brian]

Your pitch count is high. Yeah, you guys lost me on it.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, guys. Yeah, exactly.

[Brian]

I don't know. You know, I. You know, running into the pronoun thing or getting yelled out for that, it just.

[John Holmberg]

They did that last I Haven't yet, but I've been. I've said that I've had that happen before where people will say, hi, my name's Kevin. He, him.

[Brian]

Oh, you've had that.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, I've had a couple. Well, you go down to Melrose. You go down that area sometimes you have that. Yeah, Phoenix has it, everyone. So at a waiter, do it. Hey, how you guys doing tonight? I forgot his name. Like Trevor or something. My name's Trevor. He himself. Can I get you guys a drink?

[Brian]

And I'm like, so break that down. So you can go he him or.

[John Holmberg]

Just they do a third.

[Patrick]

Why?

[Brian]

Where do we take this in? Like, when he comes back to the table and ask, can I get you anything else?

[John Holmberg]

No, no. It only matters if they're they, them. Then you got to start watching yourself. If the waiter comes over, goes, hey, my name's Kevin. They, them, pronouns, you're like, oh, we're on. We're on the clock.

[Patrick]

This is struggle.

[Brian]

Where can you mess up on that?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, well, if you. If he hears you saying, well, our waiter, he said he was going to go get. If you say something about he was going to go grab us drinks, they was going to go grab us drinks. I'm like, oh, right, okay.

[Ozzy]

I'm sorry.

[John Holmberg]

I. I've offended you.

[Brian]

That's what he was calling boss.

[Braden]

Yeah, that's where boss, boss works out good, that one.

[John Holmberg]

Lady boss, madam, boss. I don't know what boss.

[Brian]

It's either pronoun. My boss.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, boss, they, them.

[Ozzy]

I'm your waiter, Brady.

[John Holmberg]

I go by chief or boss. Chief and boss.

[Braden]

Somebody does that to me. It's check, please, because I know I'm.

[Ozzy]

Going to screw up.

[John Holmberg]

I am, too, you know?

[Braden]

So I'm like, I'll sit tomorrow.

[John Holmberg]

It's a massive setup for failure. And. And you want to tell the manager, hey, I don't need to know his pronouns. I don't care about his personal life.

[Braden]

I'm here, you know, Bring me a vodka soda. Yeah, I don't care.

[John Holmberg]

Vodka soda with no spit in it. And I feel like I'm. I'm going to get it. If I goof and say the. Look, I'm not. I'm not great with English in the first place.

[Patrick]

He.

[John Holmberg]

Him's going to screw me up no matter what.

[Brian]

What if that makes us concentrate, which I think it would, more on their name than anything, because you can't go wrong by going, kevin's going to get that.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, it did do that. It made me remember his name. Hey, Trevor, how you doing?

[Ozzy]

He him.

[John Holmberg]

Well, I got you, brother. Don't you worry. They not brother. Oh, yeah. And there's the kind of screw up you could have. I'm a they Them got you, brother.

[Brian]

I'm sorry, my man. Oh, my gosh. Am I gonna get lit up with my man?

[John Holmberg]

Is the ACLU gonna get me now?

[Braden]

That's my boss.

[John Holmberg]

It works my thing. Yeah. Or if he just says something, it's like, oh, that's. That's not my meal. You were gonna give that. He was gonna give that to you, honey.

[Ozzy]

He.

[John Holmberg]

He like, oh, sorry. They was gonna give that to you. That just sounds like I'm an idiot.

[Brian]

Plate drops. He goes running back to the kitchen, crying.

[John Holmberg]

I don't get it. I'm not playing the they them game. I'm not doing that. But I got it. I've gotten it twice recently and wanted a restaurant. It took me by surprise. But then I looked around, and I'm like, I'm in, like, one of the gayest places in Phoenix. So you gotta play ball. Yeah.

[Patrick]

Just.

[John Holmberg]

I. I walked into that game, so it's okay to.

[Braden]

That's on you, kind of.

[John Holmberg]

Hey, it was 100 on me. When there's an antique shop attached to where you're eating, pretty much the they thems are gonna be. Yeah. If there's a. Like, if there's a brass monkey, you're.

[Brian]

In a fragile place.

[John Holmberg]

$18,000, and it's wearing a dodger hat, and you're like, what the hell? And you're in a they them place. Yeah, definitely. And the food was fine. It wasn't that great. Expected more from the case, to be honest. But they're too busy worrying about days and thems. And I would hate to be a cook at that place. You know, you're just barely learning English in the first place. Now you gotta figure out they them on the.

[Ozzy]

They never pick up their order. He said he was go he.

[John Holmberg]

I'm like, what happens when you hear the wrong pronoun?

[Ozzy]

Clear.

[John Holmberg]

Can we get a little grace on that one? Like, we're gonna screw that up. It's six entertainment for Kirby. The he him.

[Brian]

Oh, no, the boss thing.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, she likes.

[Brian]

I mean, it is everywhere. You just got boss.

[John Holmberg]

You get built by. You're. You're built. You're built for boss. Like, you get it a lot. I get bruh. Bruh's my thing. I get bruhed a lot, and I hate it. Hey, bruh, can I help you out? I'm like, bro, Jesus Christ. I'M an adult. You know that, right? You can't be serious. Yeah, you can't really be interacting. Me, brah?

[Braden]

No, Braden, I'm fine.

[John Holmberg]

Leave me alone.

[Patrick]

All right, Braden.

[John Holmberg]

Go get my ramen, bruh.

[Patrick]

Okay.

[John Holmberg]

Here's your drink, bruh. Do you like that last drink, brah? I'm like, no, I didn't. I liked it up until you started calling me that over and over. Now I just hate it here, bruh. Bro was annoying because it seems condescending, but brah is a thing. And I'll say that to people like, hey, brother, what's going on? But it's almost in a funny way, I'm not. I don't like boss and in chief, and then I certainly hate bra. But you are built for boss. You look like a dude that wants to be called boss, and that's why you get it.

[Patrick]

So.

[Brian]

I know it.

[John Holmberg]

It's not because you look managerial either. It's just you're built for boss.

[Ozzy]

That's a sign of affection, respect.

[John Holmberg]

No, it's a disrespect. And it's probably cuz you're short and they just feel like that's going to make you feel bigger.

[Patrick]

What's up, boss?

[Brian]

Shout.

[Ozzy]

I'm in charge. I'm the boss.

[John Holmberg]

I don't know why people say that one, sir, was nice. The old generations had it right. Hello, sir. That was a nice. That's gone.

[Braden]

What about my man?

[John Holmberg]

My man's the. My man is awful. That's what foreigners used to. We used to make fun of.

[Ozzy]

Hello, my man.

[John Holmberg]

You're good, boss man. My man. And like broken English people said, my man. And then the 70s, my friend. Black characters on television. Right on, my man.

[Ozzy]

Hello, my man.

[John Holmberg]

My friend, my man. Like that was always the Indian guy. The movie that was learning from the urban people how to speak. My man. What it is. What? What is it, my man? Friend. Too much.

[Braden]

That's my mama.

[John Holmberg]

What is it? I. I learned only English from what's my mama, dog. No, none of that.

[Brian]

You know, it still works pretty. Pretty good as the old as Lando calories, you know, just. What's up, yol Pirates.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, the old pirate's pretty solid. If you threw that at me.

[Ozzy]

Hello.

[John Holmberg]

Yo, pirate. When I walked into stake 44, be like, yeah, what are we doing? Are we getting high? What's going on?

[Brian]

Chef's cut.

[John Holmberg]

We gotta get you a butcher's cut tonight, you old pirate. I feel like I'm getting something special with that one. Like I've earned some sort of weird open door with this guy. I don't call everybody a pirate. My crew. All right, I'm at one of his pirates. Morning sickness. It's John holmberg here from the morning sickness for lifechangeloan.com I had a friend text me the other day, and he was skeptical. He was like, there's got to be a catch, man. Math is absolute. It can't lie. So we went to the computer, put his info in the little [e-mail] and found out that his loan, which he owes $523,000 over the next 27 years on could be paid off in eight years and he will save 389,000 in interest. That's ins. You should be skeptical. Ask questions. Then you'll see for yourself. It's not magic. It's just math. Lifechangelone.com Holmberg's morning sickness.

[Patrick]

An Englishman was St. Patrick, so we thought we'd bring in our favorite englishman. He is here right now. He's got theme music and everything else.

[Ozzy]

Let's open it up. Oh, Amanda, is it right? How's everyone doing this morning?

[Brian]

You ever snorted shepherd's pie?

[Ozzy]

Saw the shepherd's pie on the St. Patrick's Day Show. Whips up and they're snorting at a crazy time. And it goes nuts, man. Over at the house. And then we at the cabbage. You don't want to snort cabbage. Stay away from snorting cabbage. The celery seed is delicious.

[Brian]

Well, thanks for coming in. You sound good.

[Ozzy]

Yeah, no problem. You and I think. All right.

[Brian]

I got some contestants. We're gonna play ozzy pyramid.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Ozzy]

Okay. Clue giver.

[Patrick]

Yeah, you're the clue giver. Ozzy is the clue giver for this game. Now, everybody's seen the pyramid on TV now hosted by donny osmond. It's going to be a little difficult.

[Ozzy]

St. Patrick was an englishman.

[Brian]

That's right.

[Ozzy]

Also a moon Englishman. That's right.

[Brian]

See, Ozzy knows.

[Patrick]

Stop interrupting. Ozzy.

[Ozzy]

Sorry, sir. Go ahead.

[Patrick]

All right. Thanks, Oz. So you got the. He's gonna have categories now. The categories today are gonna be. We've got two right now to choose from. And then we got others later. But things associated with St. Patrick's Day and green things are the two categories Ozzy will be giving clues for. We got people online here waiting. Are we? Where do I go first here? Ready? Three, five. We'll go to five first. Hi, there. Who's this? This Eric. Eric, how are you this morning? Good. Are you ready to play the ozzy Pyramid. Sure am. All right, then. Ozzy is waiting for you. You'll have 30 seconds to try to get three. Now, Ozzy's clues may not be that strong, but you can. You can still try. Now, which category do you want? Green things or St. Patrick's Day items? Green things. Green things. Are you ready? Yes. All right, Say hi to Ozzy.

[Ozzy]

Hi, Ozzy. What's going on, Patrick? Ready to play the game? Give you these clues, man, and then you tell me what they are, right?

[Patrick]

Sure.

[Ozzy]

What was your name?

[Patrick]

Eric.

[Ozzy]

All right, Patrick, are you ready? Here we are. 30 seconds counted out there, Brady, but not out loud, because it threw me away.

[Brian]

Okay, I got it.

[Ozzy]

All right, ready? Here we go. Clue number one. Oh, my God. Drink too much beer.

[Patrick]

Green beer.

[Ozzy]

No. All over the floor, man.

[Patrick]

Green puke.

[Ozzy]

That's right. All right, it's one. Oh, man. The thing is, don't get him angry, man. Who's just starting tearing the place up. You can't do anything about it. He just starts ripping it apart.

[Patrick]

Bring the pecans.

[Ozzy]

No. And he's tried it in really drama. And then he's got a traumatic head wound, and instead of coming.

[Patrick]

Free blood.

[Ozzy]

No. Oh, man. Man. Time with anything, man. Nice try, Oz.

[Brian]

You're doing a good job.

[Patrick]

I thought it was pretty solid.

[Ozzy]

I'm sorry, Eric.

[Patrick]

You tried. All right.

[Ozzy]

Call back again later, Patrick.

[Patrick]

Thanks.

[Ozzy]

All right. This is horrible. Who's this? It's Chris. Chris, are you ready to try?

[Patrick]

I'm ready.

[Ozzy]

You want to try green things or green things? Green things, then. All right. Are you ready?

[Patrick]

Sure.

[Ozzy]

All right, here we go. Brady again. But not, not, not. Not so loud this time.

[Patrick]

Who's the other one? The Hulk.

[Ozzy]

Well, you just quiet down. He got it. Yes. That's number one. He's already begun.

[John Holmberg]

Okay, right.

[Ozzy]

Oh, I'm so. I'm jealous because you own so many things, and I'm completely jealous of you, which makes me green with green with envy.

[Patrick]

That's right.

[Ozzy]

He's got two in a row. Unbelievable. And then. Just don't make him angry. He's very stupid. And he comes around.

[Patrick]

Leprechaun.

[Ozzy]

And he rides around in very tattered clothing. Tom Green, he's got all sorts of problems with it. With his. With his anger. Take an anger management class would do him, Right. It's probably. But he's all right. And he's just so Reverend Angry. Oh, it was the Incredible Hulk again. I'm sorry. I ran out of clues. Sorry. Tom Green's a good one. I'm adding that to the list, though. That is a good one, Tom. Thu.

[Brian]

Smelly fingers, you know.

[Ozzy]

Nice try, man. Try back again, Patrick. Hi, there. Who's this? Hey, this is Brian. Good morning, Patrick. How are you? Brian, Right. You got two categories. One is, of course, green things, and the other would be things associated.

[Brian]

Oh. You realize each guy's got two clues. They're one away from winning. You're doing a good job.

[Ozzy]

I'm doing all right with my clue. Giving.

[Brian]

Yeah.

[Patrick]

Associated with St. Patrick's Day.

[Ozzy]

You want to try that one, do you, man? Yeah, let's try it. All right. Let's do that, then. Are we ready?

[Patrick]

Okay.

[Ozzy]

All right, let's go. Here we are. Things are so severe. Oh, I pulled that out of my ass like a horseshoe. It's an unbelievably lucky thing. I've got a lucky charm. No, a green clover. That's right, man. He's got it. This little bugger is down around me genitals. He's got me all problems and all sorts of things, and I keep bumping into him because he's not of average height and he's so effing annoying. He comes around all the time, and he's got a little hat and a clover and the thing in his pipe and he's smoking and. Oh, yeah, that would be a. Oh, my gosh.

[Patrick]

You know what he is? He's a leprechaun.

[Ozzy]

That's right, Patrick. He said it hours after, and it doesn't matter now. Well, goodbye, Patrick.

[Brian]

It's Brian. Anyway.

[Ozzy]

I don't understand, man. I was giving these clean clues.

[Brian]

You did a great job, Oz.

[Ozzy]

All right.

[Brian]

And for that, I'm gonna let you snort a couple of pretzels.

[Ozzy]

Oh, man, I love coming to the kupd. I love it here, man. Pretzel salt is good.

[Patrick]

All right, let's get Ozzy over to the. There you go. Nice job by Ozzy. He's okay. He's okay.

[Brian]

Stumbled over there.

[Patrick]

He'll be fine. Don't Worry. Thanks, Sarah. St. Patrick's Day with Ozzy, and he's doing the Ozzy Pyramid. And we get tickets to go see Saliva, Breaking Benjamin Systematic and Stereo Mud over at Nita's Hideaway. And other concert tickets, too. God, there's every concert coming to town that you could ever imagine. Zuan, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park. We got all sorts of tickets to give away. If you can get the pyramid. All you got to do is get 3 and 30 seconds. And the clues are there. The clues are absolutely there. I don't know if that wasn't Ozzy's fault, was it? No, not at all. I didn't think so either. All right, good. So one more round. 2, 6 0, 9, 800, if you think you can do it.

[John Holmberg]

Arizona's most powerful rock radio station, he said, fully erected.