#4379 All The Zerg Down

Summary

Podcast Summary: TBTL: Too Beautiful To Live - Episode #4379 "All The Zerg Down"

Host/Author: TBTL
Hosts: Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh
Release Date: January 13, 2025
Description: TBTL is a daily show hosted by two longtime friends navigating the world with humor and candid conversations.

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1. Introduction and Flight Reflections (00:00 - 02:25)

The episode kicks off with the hosts engaging in their characteristic playful banter. Luke Burbank welcomes listeners from San Diego, highlighting the stunning view of Point Loma across Coronado. He shares his recent flight experiences, including flying over parts of the greater Los Angeles area affected by fires. Luke mentions a surprising sight during landing—a green laser beam aimed at the cockpit, setting a tone of unexpected and intense experiences.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [01:19]: "It is just an absolutely spectacular morning here."

2. NFL Super Wild Card Weekend and Broadcasting Critique (02:25 - 07:59)

Andrew Walsh initiates a discussion on the NFL's Super Wild Card weekend, bringing attention to a game interruption caused by a drone flying over an open-air stadium. The interruption raises questions about the balance between security measures and media coverage.

Transitioning smoothly, the conversation shifts to NFL announcers, specifically critiquing Tom Brady’s performance as a broadcaster. Both hosts express disappointment in Brady's analytical skills and conversational ease, debating whether former athletes make effective announcers.

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [04:37]: "I feel like a bird soaring over these haters."

3. Zane Gonzalez's Obsessive Compulsiveness and Media Misrepresentation (07:00 - 26:50)

The hosts delve into an observation of Zane Gonzalez, a kicker for the Washington Commanders, who repeatedly adjusts his hair before attempting a crucial kick. They explore the possibility of Gonzalez exhibiting signs of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and critique how mainstream media trivializes or misunderstands such behaviors.

Andrew shares an article revealing Gonzalez's OCD diagnosis, prompting a discussion on the importance of empathy and accurate representation of mental health issues in sports.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [23:27]: "It was a compulsive tick we're witnessing."

4. Swatting Incidents and SWAT Militarization (26:50 - 43:57)

The conversation takes a serious turn as Luke recounts a story from NPR’s Weekend Edition about swatting incidents targeting members of Congress, including Marjorie Taylor Greene. These dangerous pranks not only disrupt lives but have led to fatalities due to aggressive SWAT responses.

Both hosts express frustration with journalistic shortcomings, emphasizing the need for accurate and balanced reporting. They also reflect on the broader societal issues contributing to such dangerous behaviors, including political polarization and the militarization of law enforcement.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [32:34]: "It's the death of quality information."

5. Loss of Faith in Humanity and Societal Divisions (43:57 - 73:41)

Andrew Walsh shares personal reflections on feeling a diminished faith in humanity, exacerbated by witnessing ongoing societal conflicts and environmental disasters like wildfires. The hosts discuss the deepening racial and social divisions, referencing the Supreme Court as a microcosm of national discord.

They explore feelings of helplessness and anxiety in the face of overwhelming societal challenges, contemplating the future and the possibility of positive change amidst pervasive negativity.

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [40:27]: "I feel like I'm really, really battling going back to the very curmudgeon."

6. Lighthearted Segment: Music, Bands, and Donors (73:41 - 90:45)

Seeking a reprieve from heavy topics, the hosts shift to a lighter discussion about music, reminiscing about bands like the Spin Doctors, Crash Test Dummies, and Hootie and the Blowfish. They engage in a playful quiz about the Crash Test Dummies' singles, showcasing their camaraderie and shared musical interests.

Acknowledging their listeners and donors, they highlight upcoming local events and concerts, fostering a sense of community and appreciation.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [53:00]: "Spin doctors walk so Lil Bacon could run."

7. Snoop Dogg Commercials and Marketing Critique (90:45 - 89:50)

Returning to humor, Luke and Andrew critique recent Snoop Dogg commercials for T-Mobile. They mock the commercials' over-the-top messaging and questionable production quality, highlighting the absurdity of celebrity endorsements being misinterpreted or poorly executed.

Their banter underscores the sometimes nonsensical nature of modern advertising, blending humor with sharp social commentary.

Notable Quote:

Andrew Walsh [81:34]: "With my savings, Snoop."

8. Laser Incident During Flight and Aviation Safety Concerns (87:38 - 90:45)

Luke recounts the unsettling experience of a green laser beam striking the cockpit during his flight to San Diego. The incident raises concerns about aviation safety and the alarming trend of individuals targeting aircraft with laser pointers. The hosts discuss the potential dangers and legal ramifications of such actions, emphasizing the need for stringent measures to prevent future incidents.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [49:07]: "That's pretty messed up."

9. Conclusion and Teaser for Next Episode (90:45 - End)

As the episode wraps up, Luke and Andrew acknowledge the mix of heavy and light topics, apologizing for the episode's emotional depth. They tease the next episode, promising a return to more positive and engaging content, including discussions on Bob Dylan's latest film and the potential relocation to San Diego. The hosts express gratitude towards their donors and listeners, encouraging support and engagement.

Notable Quote:

Luke Burbank [91:30]: "Tomorrow's going to be just high fives and good feelings and San Diego energy, I promise."

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Key Takeaways:

• Mental Health Awareness: The discussion on Zane Gonzalez highlights the importance of understanding and accurately representing mental health issues in high-pressure environments like professional sports.

• Media Responsibility: Criticism of journalistic practices underscores the need for balanced and precise reporting, especially concerning sensitive incidents like swatting.

• Societal Reflection: The hosts' introspection on societal divisions and loss of faith in humanity invites listeners to reflect on personal and collective challenges.

• Humor and Levity: Balancing heavy topics with humor, the hosts maintain an engaging and relatable dialogue, showcasing their strong rapport and ability to navigate diverse subjects.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Luke Burbank [23:27]: "It was a compulsive tick we're witnessing."

• Andrew Walsh [32:34]: "It's the death of quality information."

• Andrew Walsh [40:27]: "I feel like I'm really, really battling going back to the very curmudgeon."

• Andrew Walsh [81:34]: "With my savings, Snoop."

• Luke Burbank [49:07]: "That's pretty messed up."

• Luke Burbank [91:30]: "Tomorrow's going to be just high fives and good feelings and San Diego energy, I promise."

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Conclusion:

Episode #4379 of TBTL: Too Beautiful To Live offers a deep dive into a mix of serious societal issues and lighthearted banter, reflecting the hosts' ability to balance emotion with humor. From critiques of media practices and personal reflections on humanity to playful discussions about music and commercials, Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh deliver a compelling and multifaceted episode that resonates with a wide audience.

Transcript

[Andrew Walsh]

Look, Dottie, I like you like. I like you.

[Luke Burbank]

See, that's the thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

I like you too, Dottie.

[Luke Burbank]

There's a lot of things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie.

[Andrew Walsh]

Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't understand.

[Andrew Walsh]

T T B T L I was shaking. My tongue was shaking. My head, my arms were shaking. On my legs.

[Luke Burbank]

My feet too.

[Andrew Walsh]

In no way do I want to appear pushy here, but please shut up.

[Luke Burbank]

That's a no from me, dog. There are two types of people in this world. Those who like Neil diamond and those who don't. My ex wife loves him. You know something? That was pretty funny. You should think about being a comedian. My friend is a blackjack dealer and on his forearm he has a tattoo of an ace and a jack. You see, I'm a blackjack player. On my forearm I'm gonna get a Tattoo of a 10 and a 2 and then maybe later a king. You know how someone might describe a situation that's unpleasant or confining as being like a prison?

[Andrew Walsh]

This is what they're referring to.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, all right. Hello, good morning and welcome, everyone, to a Monday edition of tbtl, the show that just might be too beautiful to live. Don't miss the sausage festival. My name is Luke Burbank. I am your host. As Jay would say, he's got flow. Coming to you from absolutely gorgeous San Diego, California. I'm in San Diego where you can see Point Loma in the distance across Coronado. It is just an absolutely spectacular morning here. Interesting. I was listening to the public radio station here in San Diego this morning and they were. They have something right after they do the traffic, they have the surf report. If you want an indication that you're no longer in Southern Washington state, where, as I understand it, it's rainy and gray and pretty lousy today. It's listening to the surf report on the local public radio station in the morning. Anyway, here we are. It's time for episode 4379 in a collector series.

[Andrew Walsh]

Let the fun begin.

[Luke Burbank]

Interesting flight coming down here. We actually flew over some of the affected areas of the greater Los Angeles area. And then also as we were landing in San Diego, something happened that was kind of shocking to me, actually.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sky, J Zoo.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, and by the way, Alaska Airlines is on my list list right now. They are on my list for something that of the many times I've been unrelatable here on the show, this may be the most unrelatable quibble that I have. But I'm guessing it'll come up because it's been burning, burning on my heart and my mind this whole morning. In fact, I was texting our friend broadcast Barry about I needed to vent. And anyway, we'll probably get into that. Also, speaking of the haters and the losers, me in this case speaking. So I didn't know this, but apparently there is a guy who has been hating on Bob Dillon in an intense and focused way for almost the entirety of Bob Dylan's career.

[Andrew Walsh]

I feel like a bird soaring over these haters.

[Luke Burbank]

You feel me, though? And this guy is now once again kind of having his moment because Bob Dylan, or at least the idea of Bob Dylan is having its moment because of that new film that's out about him. So we'll try to talk about that, too. And we will definitely talk to this guy. Longest running cobra of the show, maybe best known for his depictions of the tall ships. He is in fact a soulful rocker from New Hampshire. He's Andrew Walsh and he's joining me right now. Good morning, my friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

Good morning, Luke. I have a question that I'm going to ask you carefully here as to not get us off track so early because there's interesting things to talk about today, including your flight. But you mentioning your flight and flying over Los Angeles where all the fires are raging, and you seeing that from above reminded me of something much, much, much, much, much more frivolous from the weekend that I have a legit question about. And you are the perfect cynic to ask this question of. I was watching one of those ridiculous NFL games this weekend that I told you, by the way, that I was looking forward to.

[Luke Burbank]

I watched so many of those games this weekend, even though I was, I was such a. No, but on Friday about that super wildcard weekend and I was like, this is a bunch of bullshit. I don't know if I've ever watched more NFL games in one weekend. I don't know what was going on.

[Andrew Walsh]

I also love that you and I are leaning into the Super Wild Card weekend. Not nomenclature, terminology, terminology, branding. And I did not realize that this is the first year that they dropped that branding. I heard one of the calling it that anymore. No, it was just Wild Card weekend. It used to be called Super Wild Card Weekend. And I think this is the first year changed it yet. It's the first year that you and I leaned into it. But we're getting all the, all the closer dangerously to speaking too much about football, which is not Why I bring this up. I bring this up to talk about air traffic control because during one of the games, one of the bigger NFL games this weekend, they stopped play temporarily because there was a drone in the sky over the stadium. Whatever stadium it was. I want. Well, no, I'm not even going to guess. It doesn't matter what game it was, but they stopped play, essentially.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, wow.

[Andrew Walsh]

They called it a security thing. You know, it wasn't a dome.

[Luke Burbank]

I wonder if it was the Tampa game because. Oh, wait, so this was a closed. The stadium had a roof?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I was going to say it did not. It was not a dome. It was an open air.

[Luke Burbank]

That narrows it down.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Because what were the stadiums? What were the teams that were playing?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, the ones that was outside. Yeah, but that was in Baltimore.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, that is an out. But that's. That's also an outdoor.

[Andrew Walsh]

It might have been Philly. That was Phillies. Outdoors, outdoor. So anyway, it doesn't matter which game it was or which stadium, but they stopped play. They said there's temporary stop and play for security reasons. When a drone goes overhead, they have to stop play for security reasons. And I'm curious, and you see why I set you up as a, as one of my more cynical friends when it comes to this kind of stuff. Is it about security that they stop play there or what percentage of it is about security and what percentage of it is. We don't want people taking amazing drone footage of our game. We don't want to let the game continue so that that drone above can capture potentially good footage of a cool play that devalues the product that we're putting out there as the NFL.

[Luke Burbank]

Well. Or option three, it's Bill Belichick spying on both teams to integrate it into his new offense at North Carolina.

[Andrew Walsh]

Good point, by the way. Oh, we can't do it. We can't. Heard some rumblings that he might. There's a chance that now that he's there, NFL teams are sniffing around and he might not even coach a single snap. There could be. I know that's a rumor. You heard that, too?

[Luke Burbank]

I did. I thought. Well, because it, I mean, it. I, I. And you know, peace and love to our friends in the Tar Heel State. Like, I, I will. I will admit to you that Bill Belichick, considered by some to be the greatest NFL coach of all time, although he. I think he lost some luster when old Tommy B.

[Andrew Walsh]

Left.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, my gosh. Thoughts on that? Tom Brady is not the Tom Brady of broadcasting, if that makes any sense. I Have never. I had never. Until last night, Andrew, when I was here at the Westin in the gas lamp, I had never actually watched a game, believe it or not, where Tom Brady was one of the announcers. I don't know how that has happened. He just didn't call any Seahawk games this year. The Seahawks didn't play any marquee enough games that I watched.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's true. No, he did. I'll look this. I could be wrong. I could be wrong.

[Luke Burbank]

It must have been one of the games that I didn't watch.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

But as far as I have any conscious memory of, this was the first time that I was, like, in a position where I was kind of giving it a fair amount of my concentration and experiencing Tom Brady as a football analyst. And it was rough. It made me so uncomfortable because it's. And by the way, now this is at the end of the season. I mean, he should be better at this, but he is. Listen, the guy has a lot of great qualities in the sort of, you know, physically gifted department, and he understands how the game of football works. And, you know, I've never heard anything about him being a particularly bad dude, but what he's not is good in casual conversation. And, you know, you'd think, well, these NFL games, it's not casual conversation. It isn't. And yet it still relies on some of it. And that's where just. You can just hear him just absolutely. The gears just turning as he's trying to think, how do regular people sound when they talk? When he's talking to Ian Eagle or whoever his. His, you know, co host is. I forget what the small talk was, but it was just brutal. Absolutely brutal. Like the other guy was saying, you know, oh, it was about. They didn't know where they were going to be assigned for their game next week. By the way, this is a big topic of conversation for all NFL announcers. They're endlessly fascinated with the fact that during this time of year, it is unclear to them where they will be the next week.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's kind of interesting. I think it's kind of interesting. It's all podcasty as they sort of, like, figure out, like, well, will I be getting. Will I be getting that chowder that I love in New England or. Or what have you. I don't mind them talking about that.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm. I'm okay with it. Except I heard every single. Andrew, I told you, nobody power used Super Wild Card weekend like I did this weekend, and every single announcer of every single game at Some point was like, we don't know where we're going next week. And by the. Like, by the time I'm going to keep going with Iron Eagle as a guess, I don't really know if that's who Tom Brady's partner is.

[Andrew Walsh]

I know that it's Kevin Burkhart. Sometimes I'm looking at that. And by the way, and I know that because it says here that the Seahawks game that he called was the Buffalo Bills game. The Brady, Brady and Burkhart did the Seahawks Bills game.

[Luke Burbank]

And I don't think I. I think that was a game where I was either traveling or working or just knew it was going to be brutal or.

[Andrew Walsh]

Listening on the radio. Right.

[Luke Burbank]

Maybe on the radio. Somehow. I experienced that game from afar, and I was glad I did because it wasn't great for us. So. So, yeah, I missed. I missed Tom Brady calling. But there was this point at which the. Let's. The Kevin Burkhart character was going, yeah, we. You know, we could be heading anywhere next week. We just don't know. And we could be going here or there. And then Tom Brady's going, yeah, we could. We could.

[Andrew Walsh]

We could.

[Luke Burbank]

We might be going here, we might be going there. And then, like, Burkhart would say something, and then you could hear Tom Brady trying to, like, think of his next thing and then just restating whatever it was, maybe in, like, a slightly modified form. Again, I'm not saying this to try to be mean to Tom Brady, because I don't. I'm not a Tom Brady hater, per se. In fact, the most humanized he ever was to me was when he drunkenly got off the Tampa Bay super bowl party boat and could barely form a sentence. I've never felt closer to Tom Brady than in that moment. I just. It's. It's interesting to realize he does have feet of clay when it comes to this one thing, which is, like, you know, talking into the microphone and kind of analyzing slash, contextualizing these football games. It's not his forte, and it's very. He. He just seems like he's so good at everything. It's. It's interesting to experience a thing he's not good at.

[Andrew Walsh]

I. I don't think that I pay quite as much attention to the announcers as you do, because I'm like, most of these games, I was puttering in some way. Not all of them, but most of them, I'm puttering in some way or like, I'm, like, cooking, and it's on. On my laptop and My laptop. Isn't that Walsh cook? I'm sort of just let Walsh cook famously. Yes, I'm as. I'm stirring my eggs and sausage in the morning, but. So it doesn't bother me as much, but just from listening to, you know, like, as a. As a P1 of the LeBatard show and other, you know, just other sports radio, I will say a lot of conversation was. You know, a lot of people were talking about this when he made his debut. I remember I was in Croatia at the time, and I know the game that. I didn't hear it or watch it, but the game that he called, I know was Browns versus somebody, because it was a Browns game, and a lot of people, you know, people were pretty brutalizing him. God, I'm having trouble speaking today. This is not how words work. Walsh. Sorry. It's a. It's a Monday. I'm a little. I'm a little fuzzy in the brain, but people were pretty brutal in their analysis of him. I do remember, like, hearing people saying, but there's. There's. There's good stuff there. He just needs the reps. And that's something that, like, as a broadcaster, as a. Has a clearly a struggling broadcaster. I always appreciate, like, give somebody time to grow into their broadcasting voice. Like, you just. That's just necessary. You just. I do think some people are better out of the gate than others. I know the. The worm has for some reason turned on Tony Romo. I still like him, and I think I love him.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't know what. I don't understand the. The haters and the losers. Second reference today. Who are anti Tony Romo. I think he. I like him a lot, but have.

[Andrew Walsh]

You heard that as well? You're not hearing that from me, right? Like, there are haters and losers out there. And I. I maintain my fandom of hearing him. If I turn on a broadcast, like, he's one of the few voices that stands out to me that I will pay more attention to. And he was good right out of the box. Brady. A lot of people were saying, and maybe this is just because they're broadcasters and they want to stay on the good side of him. But, like, who is our. She hosted Garbage time for a while, although that was a long time ago.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, Katie Nolan.

[Andrew Walsh]

Katie Nolan did a whole bit on Lebatar. Just sort of, like, giving him, like, kind of pointers or whatever. It kind of stood out in my brain. It was pretty funny. But, like, basically everybody was saying, like, yeah, a lot of work to do here, but Decent bones, basically, with repetition, he'll get there. When I hear him. Now, he does stand out, but just in a sort of flat way. And the one thing that you said that I can relate to from my less intense sort of monitoring of the situation is acting like a human. It just always sounds a little like he's, doesn't he? And this goes. If he's in a TV commercial, if I see him bantering about something like, you know, in between plays, it. It always just seems very wooden. And that does stand out to me. Aside from that, though, I'm not paying probably close enough attention to get kind of like irked by the whole thing.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, yeah, I would say I'm definitely. I'm south of irked, but north of where I was before yesterday, just in that I had never like, I literally had a moment of like, who's this guy with the kind of odd accent who's doing the call? Because that's the other thing. Isn't he from like Los Gatos, California or something? I don't know. I don't understand where Tom Brady's accent is also kind of mysterious to me. It's. Maybe his four years in Michigan were formative in some way. Like, I can't quite place it. It doesn't sound Bay Area to me. It's. He just, he's got a kind of a. It's a little bit of an odd affect just vocally and, and yeah, I just had heard a lot of people speculating. There's a, there's a, some pretty good sports shows, podcasts that the athletic puts out that I listen to sometimes. And one of them was a kind of mid season critique or analysis of like all of the announcers and like, basically, you know, who's, who's ascending and who's falling and what, what's going to happen in the world of announcing. Which sounds like an unbelievably niche conversation. But I was so into it, dude. I was like painting over shitty wallpaper in my upstairs bedroom. Just like, I will listen to a seven hour podcast about this, about wither. Greg Olson, who was supposed to be, who was kind of the number one commentary guy until Tom Brady decided to just come in and bigfoot him. But then Greg Olson was a good soldier. But now where does Greg Olson go? Like, this is, this is the content that I really crave, if I'm being honest. But anyways, I still hadn't heard any of the Tom Brady stuff, so I was just, I couldn't actually think about it in terms of My own experience with it. And last night I was just like, it's serviceable. If you were watching a PAC 12, which rest in power. If you were watching a Pack 2 game, if you were watching Oregon State, Washington State, and they had grabbed like, you know, I don't know, somebody who had like been on one of the teams. That's one of the things about. And I know you probably don't watch a ton of college football. The funny thing about the. The college football on the regional level is there will be guys that. That's where you're kind of building your resume. If you're a former player and oftentimes if you played at one of the schools in the league and you weren't particularly notable in the pros, you can still get further, like, let's just say you were a big star in the Pac12, but then you never really materialized in the NFL. But you're well known, you have a lot of cachet in the PAC12. You'll get to call like a Utah, Washington State game. It'll be like, Michael Bumpus is here. By the way, classic example, Michael Bumpus. Not. I don't. I mean, he might have had like a game in the pros, but like big star at Washington State and he's, you know. And by the way, I think he's pretty good at what he does. But all that is to say, Tom Brady was operating at about the level of somebody I thought that should have been calling a Pac12 game between a non marquee Pac12 game, not a playoff game. That was a pretty important one that was going on.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I guess that is an example. Again, there are other players who jump right to NFL broadcasting. Not everybody comes up through that. But you're right, he has this sort of sound of that. I could see that. It just. Again, to me, it's just sort of flat. If I'm listening, I can sort of not think about. I could sit here and just not think about the announcers all day. I could think about them or not think about them all day, but there was something about the Tom Brady. Was it last night's game? Was it the Bucks game? No, it wasn't the Bucks game. Was it. Whatever. It was some game yesterday I did notice. I'm like, oh, there's Tom Brady. Because, like, it stands out almost like, yeah, if something has a texture that. This is such a weird way of, wow, am I stoned on a Monday morning? I feel like the Tom Brady, what he brings up broadcast is if you're like Kind of like running your hand across something and it's got like some sort of mild texture to it, and then you just hit sort of a flat. A smooth area.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes, that's the.

[Andrew Walsh]

Andrew.

[Luke Burbank]

Whatever you're smoking, smoke the same amount of it tomorrow. Because that is an extremely. That's an extremely good way to describe it. It's like you're. You're sort of like experiencing this one kind of texture of the. The sonic texture of the game, and then all of a sudden something's different in the texture. Hey, speaking of texture.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Let's move on.

[Luke Burbank]

Did you see? No, we're not moving on.

[Andrew Walsh]

Did you see? I told everybody I wasn't gonna turn the whole thing into football.

[Luke Burbank]

Did you see? No. I think this is kind of interesting, actually. This is not about football. This is about a person who I believe may have ocd. And I felt like it was being misunderstood or misdescribed. Last night, did you see the kicker for the Commanders? Grooming his hair before he put his helmet on, before he kicked the final kick.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, again, like to be. I was, I was kind of. Last night, I watched that game exactly how I wanted to, which is not how you would have wanted to, but I came home from my pop up gig and I was like, oh, I'm gonna get cozy. I'm gonna have a few beers, I'm gonna make. I made like some stupid cheapo casserole. But I just. It was just something that had like.

[Luke Burbank]

A bunch of don't overspend on casserole.

[Andrew Walsh]

I always said it. Well, I mean, I. I made it myself. I. I painted myself into the corner for having to tell you what I was cooking, which I didn't want to do because I was making that poor man's chicken parmesan again, which is like. It's not a frozen thing. It's like I'm. It's a very, very simple, dumb thing. I call it Poor man chicken parmesan, but it's just a very, very simple thing. But it has steps involved. It's like you boil the noodles, heat up the chicken. You know, it's like, whatever. It's like. It's something that is like. It was exactly what I wanted to do last night. I wanted to dial up the game because I was very interested in watching Baker. By the way, this maybe speaks to my. Maybe my pathetic Seahawks fandom, or maybe just speaks to how much beer I had by the end of that game last night. I swear, watching Baker lose that game, and Baker did lose that game. In such a bakery way. But also to see flashes. Yes. And also to see flashes of Baker connecting with Mike Evans in this way that, like, I was just like, this is everything that I lived as a Brown fan. And I was devastated at the end of that game.

[Luke Burbank]

I was so mad at you last night for making me care.

[Andrew Walsh]

I was.

[Luke Burbank]

I was in this freaking hotel room at the West End watching this game. I literally almost text you to say thanks a lot for making this. Thanks for making me feel some kind of way about this game.

[Andrew Walsh]

Were you bummed?

[Luke Burbank]

You're like, dude, I was gonna say so bummed.

[Andrew Walsh]

That might have been the most.

[Luke Burbank]

I was bonked it in.

[Andrew Walsh]

I know it had hit the like. Because I don't know if you realize this. I don't think the announcers mentioned this. Zane Gonzalez was a Browns kicker for a small period of time, and he killed us. I believe I could be wrong about this. I think this has come up on the show before. I think. Think he destroyed us by missing some kicks in a New Orleans. In an important New Orleans game years ago. Whatever. Zane Gonzalez. I could be wrong. I'm often wrong about this shit. But for some reason, that name stands out to me as a kicker that I hated who wore a Browns uniform for a while and for him to win that game over Baker yesterday. Because when I'm. When I'm rooting for Baker, I'm rooting for the. For the. For like the Browns. That could have been basically. Or the. What did I call it one time in a text message to you, the Browns de estimate of one Baker Mayfield.

[Luke Burbank]

It's like the man in the high castle. It's a sort of counterfactual. It's a counterfactual where it's like, if the Browns management weren't so terrible and ownership weren't so horrible and accepting of somebody who by all accounts is a sexual predator and bad at football. If they weren't those people, what could have happened? What could have been? We're just letting it play out in this other dimension.

[Andrew Walsh]

And Baker had a great season. He threw. I think I mentioned this on the show recently. Like, he threw more touch touchdown passes this season than I think any Browns quarterback had thrown since maybe the. Maybe the pre super bowl era or maybe the 60s or 70s. Anyway, he had a really good season, and I was like, really rooting hard for him. And so to lose the game sort of in that fashion, I was so bummed last night. And just like you then you're just like, dude, you just watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the Washington Commanders. You don't. You don't have the right to have feelings about this. This is not right.

[Luke Burbank]

But let's talk about Zane Gonzalez and his obsessive. And I use that term advisedly, like, his obsessive hair straightening. Like, I was watching it on national television. I was like, oh, this is a person who has an obsessive, compulsive tic that clearly is related to the pressure of this moment. And it was very interesting to watch it unfold. And then later, I saw on, like, TikTok or something, like ESPN or something, tweeting the clip out. Not tweeting it, but posting it on TikTok and saying, like, gotta get that hair right or something. I was like, no, no, no, no. That's not what's happening here. Like, this is a. This is a compulsive tick we're witnessing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, all of that is. That's right. I'm sorry. I started my jag there by telling you what I was cooking, but my experience of that game was me, like, kind of puttering around the kitchen, watching it, feeling cozy, but also not, like, you know, not staring at the screen constantly. So I just. I did not remember that at all until you said that. And, like. That's right. It was just sort of. You uncovered a memory of me, of him, like, kind of walking. Right. It was him, like, kind of walking out onto the field to do the kick. Yeah. And he kept messing with his hair, and then he finally puts his helmet on. I didn't really, like, note it at the time, but it really did stand out.

[Luke Burbank]

It was like, first of all, his hair is very short, so there's. It's not like the kind of hair that you could even move it very much noticeably. He didn't have, like, a part in his hair, and then, like, a swoop of hair that he was getting just right. It was him kind of pushing his pretty short hair over in a way that was indistinguishable visually. And then he'd start to put his helmet on, and then he'd take his helmet off, and then he would smush his hair over again two or three times. And then he would start to put his helmet on, then he would take it off. He did that probably five or six times as he walked out to kick the ball.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm seeing an article here. The real reason why Zane Gonzalez is there. Well, that is one of those janky websites. What am I. Oh, am I on for the win? That's the USA Today kind of sports blog here, but it's like one of those things where it's more ads and photos than text and you can't tell where the text of the article is and where the text. Like some sort of like zurb Net is going on here. But let's see here. A lot of folks knows Gonzalez adjusting his hair a lot before putting on his helmet. Why did he do that? Was it good luck? Oh, my gosh. This is like. A lot of people like to make baked potatoes, but why do they make baked potatoes? Is it because it reminds them of childhood or because they aren't getting enough starch? Turns out he's been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay.

[Andrew Walsh]

Ocd. So that might have been. So that might have been the reason. Terribly written, but yeah. So there you go. He has he. I guess he is.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, publicly again. No, no. You know, no shade or whatever. I'm not trying to make light of it, but it was very clear that that's what was going on. And I thought it was interesting that ESPN, somebody at the helm of the ESPN TikTok, did not understand that it wasn't just like, gotta get the hair right. Like, you look at the guy doing this and you're like, yeah, this is in a different category and probably not something that we. That we wanna blast out as something kind of cutesy, but more as maybe you wanna talk about awareness or something. But it's. I just was like, is anyone at the wheel. Andrew, Can I. I'm sorry, can I take this to a totally unnecessary and slightly grim place on the subject of, like, how bad the media is right now, or at least parts of the media are.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, but if you're gonna get off the Zane Gonzalez thing, I just wanna say again, I just watched it again in the context of this quote that he told to ESPN in 2017. It makes you a perfectionist and more detail oriented on the field. The ocd. Then he says, off the field it's a pain in the butt. And then I'm re watching this and like, again, I sort of saw this yesterday and somewhere in the back of my brain I clocked it a little bit. But rewatch now. Like, he goes to put on his helmet several times in a row and then like takes off. Like, he kind of. The helmet almost breaches his head. Then he takes it off and he met. This is very, very humanizing to me. And now it makes me feel terrible for any times that I hated Zane Gonzalez.

[Luke Burbank]

No, you listen, two things can be true.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

He can, he can suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder and you could hate him for missing kicks as a Cleveland Brown, my friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I also wonder if, if, if you struggle with something like this. I mean, listen, the pain of anybody who misses an important field goal when this is your job and your position, it's probably a kind of pain that I have no associate that I can't even associate with. Like, it's going to suck no matter what. But I do wonder if struggling, you know, with an actual disorder makes that pain even, even more painful for him. But what were you going to say about the broadcast side?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, God, no, it wasn't about the broadcast. It was about the general state of journalism because you were, you were mentioning how in whatever that article you were just reading there was like, he has mentioned he has obsessive compulsive disorder. This could be part of it. It's like, no shit, Sherlock. But like, again, sorry, this is, I mean, left turn doesn't even begin to describe how unrelated to anything we've been talking about today is. But it's just like it's the zerg netification of the news by way of the Internet, by way of no one's minding the store by way of, like, there's just, it's just the death of quality information. And every once in a while, I just bump up against it in a way that just frustrates me so deeply. So this all starts yesterday, Andrew, when I'm still back at my house. Sorry for all of the sirens here. We happen to be located in an area near the federal building, the federal courthouse here in San Diego. And apparently there's a lot of emergency activity that goes on around here. But, but yesterday I'm listening to a story on Weekend Edition by congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt at npr. And the story is about basically how there's been swatting going on. It's about the questions of the safety of people in Congress. And I was immediately annoyed because two of the examples she uses are Republicans, and one of them is Marjorie Taylor Greene. And the reason I was frustrated is because you could listen to that and you could think it's the Republicans who are under some kind of unique threat. When I would say, if anything, it's quite the opposite in terms of, typically speaking, which sort of political affiliation leans towards threats of violence. Right. So it's just like Barbara and her editor need to, in my mind, run this through the filter of what are we actually like? Not only what is the information, but what is the larger impression we are giving with this piece, if we do a story about how Congress is under threat and the two primary examples we use are Republicans, how does that read to the listening audience? And so then she says, and sometimes these. So someone had swatted Marjorie Taylor Greene's home, I. E. They had called in like a bomb threat or something to her home that was not real. So emergency services responded, you know, and I think it's Barbara in her piece says, and these events are not, these events can be deadly. And then it cuts to a clip of Marjorie Taylor Greene and she is saying, yes, when someone was, when they were responding to this bomb threat at my home, someone passed away in an accident. And I was like, that's a really weird way to describe that. What do you mean someone passed away in an accident? Interesting, huh?

[Andrew Walsh]

And so can I guess or should I just let you roll?

[Luke Burbank]

You know, give, give it a guess.

[Andrew Walsh]

Were they making some sort of argument about like the first responders coming to her house? So therefore they were not able to respond to another place where somebody lost their life?

[Luke Burbank]

No, but I would have absolutely also expected that. That is a very, very solid guess what it was. And I was like, this is a weird. And I said to Becca, I was like, she's saying that in a very weird parsed way. And I go, I promise you, I know what happened. These jacked up militarized first responders, by the way, the barber sprunt piece is not even the journalism I'm mad at. We haven't even gotten to that yet. These jacked up militarized SWAT people that are driving these like up, up armor up, ram wrapped vehicles and are wearing $100,000 of body armor at all times while they were racing to the scene of this. They probably killed someone on the roadway. They probably crashed into someone with one of their bullshit vehicles. And that person is probably dead. And that's probably the, the death that this swatting led to because of the quote, accident. And so I had a little downtime at the airport and I did a little search. Sure enough, 65 year old woman killed by one of these SWAT people, hitting her in her car and killing her. So first of all, the death that was caused by the, the swatting and nobody should be swatting even Marjorie Taylor Greene. We shouldn't be doing any of that stuff. But the death, I mean the. I guess you could say that it wouldn't have happened if not for the initial call. By the way, these came from like Russia or something. They think, I mean this isn't even like, you know, AOC fans in the US are like swatting Marjorie Taylor Greene. This is stuff that's happening literally in other parts of the country or the world rather. But like the death was some, by my lights, some out of control emergency law enforcement vehicle that probably weighs four times what it should because it's all up armored, driving in some unsafe manner towards a thing that wasn't even real and then hitting someone. And this kind of stuff happens all the time. It happened in Seattle with the police officer responding to something and killing a pedestrian because he was exceeding the speed limit. He was only recently fired after like how many years of that incident happening?

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm gonna say at least two. And you know, that's the one also that they were caught on tape immediately after that, literally laughing about.

[Luke Burbank]

And that guy didn't lose his job yet, by the way.

[Andrew Walsh]

The person who was laughing, the commander, whoever it was who had a connection.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't believe that person has lost their job.

[Andrew Walsh]

What do you say?

[Luke Burbank]

This is not, here's the journalism piece.

[Andrew Walsh]

This isn't a high value one or something he referred to.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, he was assessing the value of the victim based on her age and. Which is beyond, it's beyond, it's beyond the pale of anything that we could even criticize because it's so manifestly bad. But here's the journalism piece, Andrew. This is, I think, really what everyone tuned in on this Monday to hear on this day that everything else is going so great in the country and they like to turn to TBTL for just a little, just a little sunlight, just a little kind of moment of Zen and fun. So I find this article because I wanted to figure out what happened with this. So I'm googling around and I get to this ABC article, maybe it's even from the local ABC station in wherever, Georgia or something. And the headline is Woman dies after she collides with SWAT vehicle. After she collides. Yeah, after she crashes into SWAT vehicle. And I thought, well, that is different than what I thought it was. I thought I was like, well, that's, you know, I mean that's terribly unfortunate, but I guess it could have been a little bit of a different scene than I had pictured in my mind. And I had to read all the way the zerg down this article, Andrew, through like 11 weirdly broken up paragraphs and ads for like a, you know, some kind of foot pain relief, et cetera, to find upon second reference that the vehicle very much crashed into her. And I, when I tell you That I wanted to. Like, I found the person who wrote the article and I wanted to just like. And this is about. This is not even related to that incident. This is related to a lot of feelings that I just carry around all the time about the state of this country. You know, this person at whatever the local ABC affiliate or whatever it was, I was so close to just like sitting in pdx, sending them the most excoriating, unhinged email saying, do you not effing understand how big of a difference it is who crashed into whom? If she crashed into the SWAT thing, it's one thing. If they crashed into her, which is what happened, it's another thing. And like, how dare you be so careless with your job of writing this article that you just think that those both mean the same thing and that the first reference to it is that she was the one essentially at fault versus the real story, which is this other person was, in my mind, very likely at fault, just based on what I know about the world. I was like, I was just sitting there burning up in the airport yesterday over this thing that I have no connection to because of what is just a general kind of. I don't know if you'd call it anxiety or anger or something that I'm just kind of walking around with all the time in my back pocket.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. In a sense of anxiety, in a sense of sort of helplessness, or may I know if hopelessness is too strong of a word, but certainly that, like, it feels like there's not a lot you can do. And it goes back to, like, I feel like in the past year especially, I have several times talked about how Instagram posts from people that I agree with were just starting to get to me too much. You know what I mean? Just too many people just screaming into the void. And also, like, this sort of. And again, it must have something to do with the folks I follow who. And the people I'm describing here, I just want to restate this. Are people whose political and worldview, I guess, would kind of come from the left. And in most cases I agree with and have and are just like either hammering home a specific issue, just like, just, you know, important issues, like in many cases, like what's going on in Gaza. And I think in that case specifically, it's just kind of like people are watching something they feel that is just. Just absolutely abhorrent, and they have a feeling like they need to do something. Somebody needs to do something. And the only tool they have from their perch in Strongsville, Ohio, or Wherever it is, is to just like post on Instagram because it's the only outlet they had. And for me, as I'm scrolling and I just read, you know, slide after slide after slide after slide after slide of this. And also then there's that sort of tone of like the, the people who are sort of lecturing to the rest of us, like, let me explain to you why you should feel this way or whatever. Like it just started to really get to me and I don't, I don't enjoy that in my social media. It doesn't mean that it is agree with these people, but I just think it really comes from the sense of just like, I don't, I don't know what to do here. Like really bad shit is happening. And like, you know, certainly since the election, like I've been in, I don't know, man, I feel like my personality has changed since the election. I'm not joking. Like, I feel like I'm really, really battling going back to the very curmudgeon, if you can believe it. Like as a young man, Luke, I was way more curmudgeonly than I am now. I don't know if you could wrap your head around that or not. But like I really, really, really bleak view of human nature and humankind as a young person. It doesn't mean that I was going out. Like, I wasn't a nihilist, I wasn't, you know, but like I just internally, logically, if you just looked at human nature and the way people segregate themselves. That's the wrong word. Sort of like the way people will always find outsiders. There will always be a weaker class. Like there's just like. I was just thinking about this this morning while listening to the news. Like, like a very immature conversation I had with a teacher at a pretty young age. Probably, probably too old of an age to come into this with such naivete. But I grew up in a pretty sheltered environment and without like kind of a lot of, I don't know, like a diversity of opinions or backgrounds or whatever where I grew up and I remember as probably in middle school or maybe very, very early high school, saying to a teacher something along the lines of like, well, we just need, generally speaking, sort of like more integration and just like if everybody almost like making this really silly childish argument for like, what if race didn't exist? What if we're all just like co. Mingling so much that you don't have these dividing lines? Which is a really silly. It's a very immature kind of approach to that. But as a young person, and I remember my teacher who I would. I don't remember anything about this woman other than I liked her and she was a straight shooter. And she said to me, not in front of the whole clash. I said this to her privately as she was at my desk for some reason, we were working on a paper or something, and I remember saying that I'm just like, well, maybe if we just eliminate the divisions, we can't even tell the difference between people anymore. Like, we won't have this. And she said, well, they'll just go after people with glasses then. Or something else. And I remember just being like, wow. It is literally human nature to find a. To find a weak.

[Luke Burbank]

A difference, a difference in a weakness, whether real or created, you know, out of, like, obviously, people talk about this a lot, that race is a construction. Like, we'll find something to decide who is the in group and who's the out group.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. And I'm sorry I'm rambling here, because I'm clearly all all over the place, but I think that that maybe had. I don't know if what she said stuck with me because it shocked me or because it fit in with some notions that I was probably already maybe having in the back of my head, but it really. It really stuck with me. And so, anyway, I grew. I'm 48 years old now. I've had a lot of life. I've met a lot of different kinds of people. I've read a few more books. Hopefully I'm not that naive anymore. But now that I just sort of look at where we are as a nation and frankly, as a world, you're just kind of like, yeah, how can I have faith in humankind at all anymore? Like, I'm literally losing my faith in humankind. I mean, this is getting really heavy. We could talk about drones over the. Over the Ravens game again if you want to, but, like, I'm literally talking about losing my faith in humankind for the second time in my life, and I kind of don't know what to do with those feelings. And so if you're having to bring it back together, if you're having these overwhelming urges to write into an editor for the second time in a week. I know your first one, though, that wasn't an angry email.

[Luke Burbank]

That was clarifying Glassell Park.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right. And I don't think you should have any regrets over that or regrets over that. But all of that is to say I think a lot of us are really struggling with what to do with this feeling of. And I'll go back to saying the word helplessness again because it's like, well, what the hell are we supposed to do? Like, we look around, it doesn't feel fake. It doesn't feel like, oh, somebody stole an election, or this isn't who we are. It's who we are. It's who we are. And you can define we however you want.

[Luke Burbank]

Right? Yes, that's. I think about this a lot with the Supreme Court, actually. Just this idea of, like. Because now we all talk about. Well, we all, I mean, people from our persuasion, we talk about the Supreme Court as being this kind of, you know, sort of this, this thing that's in the pocket for Donald Trump and that is also just like bad people. And it's like, well, what is it? Six of them are. But it's like, it's not. That's not the whole court. That's just the people that have the voting majority right now. There is an Elena Kagan on there. You know, there are other people. There is a Ketanji, Brown, Jackson, and there are great. There are people that I have a tremendous amount of respect for that are on that court. But we just say the court now and the court, it's just like, boo the court. And I don't know why that. I just feel like that's a microcosm of the American people. Like, yes, it is us as a country. We did do this, but like, you didn't do this, I didn't do this.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I mean, but I guess that, I mean, when you talk about the microcosm of the court and then you broaden it out to say that also reflects the electorate. Like, that's a really good point. Not that we're debating here. I don't have any. I don't have any counterpoint to that. That's a good way of looking at it. Except the way the systems are built, it's kind of like, well, it kind of doesn't matter if it's a razor thin margin, if one side just can completely kind of trample the other as far. And that's how it feels to me. And again, maybe this is just my perspective. I don't know, man. I'm just struggling with this, generally speaking, as we all are. Most of us are like, I, I don't know what I. Like, let's say we get through these four years and then somebody else who's more responsible is in office, ideally a Democrat. Right. But like somebody who's not a demagogue and just like just one of the most dangerous people like on the planet. Right. Like, how do we look back at this? I'm old enough now to be looking back nostalgically at times when I thought I was that I thought I was already a completely kind of developed adult. You know, I'm at this age now where I'm looking back at myself at other adult ages and I seem so young, which is kind of a new feeling for me. Like feeling like I was a kid when I was in my 30s. But like when I was in my 30s I was like, well, this is it. Yes, definitely, I'm done.

[Luke Burbank]

You know.

[Andrew Walsh]

And then looking back at that time.

[Luke Burbank]

This feels like it has to be it though. Like, is there any, like we're friggin almost 50, dude. Like Kendra, I just can't imagine looking back on this and being like so young, so naive.

[Andrew Walsh]

But ideally we will, right? And the world around us and I kind of of don't know what to look forward to other than like, well, hopefully we correct it a little bit again. But when you just look at the broad scheme of things, it's hard to see. It's hard to see it bend towards justice as we paraphrase a lot, you know.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, well, I mean just. And we're not going to settle this here and I want to. Oh, speaking of man's inhumanity to man, I'll just tell you that when we'll just, if we can, we'll just slide over, we'll go from that into a different conversation about people being bad to each other. When our plane was landing here in San Diego, I was on the like right side of the plane on the window and I was, I was the. I happened to have gotten upgraded prayers up thanks to Alaska Airlines. It was the last nice thing Alaska Airlines would do for me in a long time. But anyway, I was so I am essentially like almost where the cockpit is. I'm as close to the cockpit as you can be on the airline bulkhead. Well, yeah, the very front row of first class is the bulkhead, which is why I always. If it's. If there are some empty seats and I'm getting Upgraded, I'm a 1F. I'm a 1F man like my father and his father before him. Because it's even extra legroom even by first class standards. We love it because if you need to use the restroom, the other person does not have to get up, but you can be on the window. It is, you know, it's a pretty good spot to Be. And I feel very privileged, et cetera, et cetera. We're starting to land. We're coming in. And I look over and all the way across. I'm not great with the geography of San Diego, but there's, of course, a huge kind of sort of bay in that downtown San Diego kind of is built along. And you've got Coronado and you've got various naval stuff going on. And anyway, all this stuff over the water and then way in the far distance, easily five miles away as the crow flies, I look over and I see a green light flashing. And it flashes right into my eye. And my first thought was, oh, they're opening a nightclub over there. Like, I thought, oh, it's one of those. It's some kind of a, you know, thing that's being, you know, shot up into the sky in order to promote something. Because that was the only. You know, your mind wants to find a rational explanation for something in a moment like that or in a weird moment like. So I just thought, oh, they're promoting a nightclub way over there on that peninsula out in the water. And then I realized, oh, I was waiting for this green thing to whatever. This, like, cycle to cycle through again, like one of those searchlights or whatever you call those things, spotlights. I was waiting for it to cycle through again because I was like, wow, that's pretty intense from over there. And guess what, Andrew? It never showed up again. Why? Because it was a green laser that somebody five miles away was trying to shine at the cockpit of the plane I was in. And it just so happened to hit me because I was very close to the cockpit and it was a wild experience. I could not believe that that actually just happened.

[Andrew Walsh]

That when you mentioned that at the top of the show, or maybe I saw it on the show sheet. I kind of can't remember the order of things. I was kind of curious. I wasn't sure if it was related to. I thought maybe this happened when you were over LA or something when you were. So I thought it had to do with some emergency measures. Because the thing that strikes me about this, and this is not what should strike me about this, but the fact that it's green is interesting. I literally, this weekend, while we were playing with Bingo's favorite toy, this red laser toy, right? Which he literally will find and bring over to us and drop at our feet if we are ignoring him too much.

[Luke Burbank]

As if that cat couldn't get cute.

[Andrew Walsh]

It is amazing. But anyway, I was like, why don't they make these in More colors always read. And I even had this thought, I might have even said it out loud to Genevieve, like maybe, maybe they just don't, you know, Maybe it has something to do with like, I don't know, we literal wavelengths or. Or infrared somethings. Infrared somethings. God, I love that record. Infrared somethings.

[Luke Burbank]

Was that rem?

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, I feel it was like.

[Luke Burbank]

Was that before or after Murmur Feel.

[Andrew Walsh]

Like it was Spin doctors. Anyway, I just, I wasn't. So I didn't know. Like I assumed there must be some different between red and other color lasers. Maybe red goes further. I'm not sure because I always picture them being red. I'm stuck here on a weird thing.

[Luke Burbank]

I think green lasers are brighter. Better visibility in all lighting conditions. Ideal for outdoor use. Green light also scatters more in the atmosphere than red light does, which is why amateur astronomers often use green laser pens to point out features. I've only heard because this was kind of a thing that was happening for a while where there was like people with these green lasers on the ground trying to shine them in pilot's eyes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, and they're always green.

[Luke Burbank]

You knew back I'd always heard it referred to as green. I'd never heard of any other color.

[Andrew Walsh]

This is the first time hearing. And I mean this is not the first I'm hearing about people screwing with planes in this way. And I've heard that it's very dangerous. But I always just pictured red. I didn't know that green was even an option. Anyway, that's. That's not the point of your story. But that is pretty messed up.

[Luke Burbank]

It was just. It was. I mean, I've already told the whole story. That's it. There's no amazing end to it other than. And just this moment of like, it's weird when your brain is trying to. When your brain is trying to fit something into a context of other things it knows about. So again, it's like it's a Sunday night. Do you think that they're promoting a nightclub? It's also like the fact that I was just like, man, that's a bangin club happening over there in that otherwise residential neighborhood far away from us. That was totally the story of my brain. And I didn't even realize what had gone on until I realized it wasn't happening anymore. Right? Like it wasn't on some loop where you could see it going around. And every 15 seconds it made its little thing. It was just a one time thing that went right into my eye. Luckily it didn't do Any damage that I can tell it didn't. Like, maybe it hit me at the right angle or the wrong angle, but, I mean, I looked right into it. Like, they definitely shined that thing into the window of 1F of that Alaska Airlines flight.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. And, yeah. Just for the sake of. Of messing with planes, I was like.

[Luke Burbank]

Do I tell the pilots about it? I mean, what can they really do about it? I also didn't want to, like, if there was something. If there was a report I needed to fill out. By the way, this shows you my level of civic engagement. It's called almost emailing an editor for ABCNews.com and almost telling the pilots about a possible terrorist event.

[Andrew Walsh]

I had this urge just to pound and pound on the cockpit door until they opened it up.

[Luke Burbank]

There's a little green men outside.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Calm down, Shatner.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thank you for being a town.

[Luke Burbank]

Hey, let's thank some donors. I don't know if they knew they were sponsoring today's content, but generally speaking, they support TBTL and what we do.

[Andrew Walsh]

Apologies for everything I said before.

[Luke Burbank]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Just for some of it. Not for everything.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, no, I was talking about everything regarding football.

[Luke Burbank]

That's a. We really did. And again, Andrew, I want to take the. I want to take the L on this. The L in Luke stands for loss. Today I brought up football, or at least I took us to a place with football, and then immediately pivoted into a deadly accident involving Marjorie Taylor Greene. And what did I expect would happen?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, let me just say this to wrap up, because I am embarrassed about that. I just rambled and rambled and. And talked about losing faith in humanity, which is very heavy thing to say on a Monday. I think what is happening here is we are getting close to Inauguration Day. I think I woke up this morning, I was like, wait, when is that? Is that this week? And I knew. I know it's not. But for a second. And I think that maybe part of it is like, listen, we're gonna have a long four years for people who care about things the way that we care about things. And I think we're all spinning in our own way. And you guys got to hear me spin out there for a little bit. So my apologies.

[Luke Burbank]

I think it's a very, very. That's a very natural thing, Andrew. And I think our listeners can relate. So please be nice to yourself about that. And I mean, I'm the one who was saying that I have anger that I don't know what to do with. That's not a spin out or a crash out, as the kids say. Now, I don't know what is. I know what is a very generous thing. And that is what Tyler Teton of Federal Way Washington is doing, which is supporting the show. Tyler, thank you very much. Appreciate you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Tyler, one of our greatest. Yo, go ahead. Sorry, what were you gonna say? One of our what?

[Luke Burbank]

I was just gonna make a la and a low hanging and obvious joke that he's one of our grandest donors.

[Andrew Walsh]

Ah. Because the Teton. I was gonna offer some information for Tyler that might be relevant.

[Luke Burbank]

Even better.

[Andrew Walsh]

Crash Test Dummies are coming to Federal Way on February 8th. I happen to see an ad for that this weekend and I was distributing it amongst there was a guy who.

[Luke Burbank]

Donated money to a podcast.

[Andrew Walsh]

There you go. Now here's the quiz for you. For some reason, and this came up with. I don't know why I was talking to Camaro, Kev and Roden about this a few weeks ago and I don't know why it's been my mind lately, but we've been talking about bands that sort of fit into that category. Spin Doctors, which I brought up already once on the show today. Crash Test Dummies.

[Luke Burbank]

A lot of Spin Doctors.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, it really is like this sort of. Oh, I think we were talking about. I think a while back, Kevin and I were talking about like kind of the intersection of Blues Traveler and What's the other one?

[Luke Burbank]

Counting Crows.

[Andrew Walsh]

Very close. I would put Counting Crows as like kind of the third leg of the stool. You have Darius Rutker, Hootie and the Blowfish. Did I get his name right?

[Luke Burbank]

Darius Rutger.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wow. I came very close. Yes. Hootie and the Blowfish. Weird that I could think of his name before Hootie, but either way.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, he's had a very, very successful solo career covering that one old Crow Medicine show song. He's had an entire solo career called doing Wagon Wheel.

[Andrew Walsh]

But anyway, can you name the other Crash Test Dummies single? Because I believe.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, so that song, the one I just sang is called. I think it's literally called. Is that correct?

[Andrew Walsh]

I think so.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, they had another one.

[Andrew Walsh]

Let me see here. If I'm right.

[Luke Burbank]

That was popular. I believe that I would have heard of Interestant.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, I'm sure.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm sure it's playing in the EQC ad. Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, I. I saw an Instagram ad for it, if you can believe it. The name of the record was God Shuffled His Feet. Okay, let's see here. Maybe I'M wrong about this. I thought they had one other hit that we all sort of, you know, got.

[Luke Burbank]

You're not thinking of, like the. You're not thinking of Spin Doctors who had Jimmy Olsen's Blues, but then also had Pocket Full of Kryptonite. But then also.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wait, that's the same one.

[Luke Burbank]

Sorry. But then also had Little Miss Can't Be and also had Two Princes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Two princes, Exactly. They had three Here God shuffled his Feet album. Maybe I'm wrong about this. I set this up as a quiz. And God Shuffle feet, Swimming in your ocean. No, now I've got Sandwich.

[Luke Burbank]

Are you thinking of Dishwalla? Tell me all your thoughts on God, because I'd really like to meet her. Her Luke mind blown.

[Andrew Walsh]

Think about it. Okay. Anyway, I guess I don't. I guess I don't have an answer to my own quiz question.

[Luke Burbank]

I wonder if Eliza Kurtz knows the answer.

[Andrew Walsh]

Eliza Kurtz, help me Save me in Wilmington, Delaware.

[Luke Burbank]

Thank you, Eliza. Eliza, if you have. So the thing you and Camaro and Roden were talking about was basically, like, bands from that era who had a surprising number of hits or specifically two hits, although maybe people would think of them as a one hit.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know how it came up, but here's what I know. At one point, I was watching an Arizona Rams game with Camaro back in it. See if the Seahawks had any chance of making it to the. To the.

[Luke Burbank]

I was watching that game.

[Andrew Walsh]

We were watching that game together, the three of us. And for some reason, I believe John Popper came up and Kevin let me know that John Hopper was in, like.

[Luke Burbank]

North Bend or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, because he was arrested with a van full of guns up in, like, some community in North Seattle, like, really recently. No, like here. Let's see here.

[Luke Burbank]

How did this John Popper news escape? Dude, I wrote an entire college paper on the video for the Blues Traveler song Hook.

[Andrew Walsh]

A Blues Traveler singer arrested near Spokane county line. This is from the Spokesman Review, one of your favorite papers to write into. I believe it was in Glasser Park, March of 2007, Blues Traveler singer and harmonica player John Pepper arrested. The vehicle he was riding in was clocked going 111 miles per hour. I don't know about the guns thing. That just Sue Camaro. Kev, if I'm slandering him.

[Luke Burbank]

Suck it in. Suck it in. If you're in Tin Tin or an Boleyn.

[Andrew Walsh]

Ooh. Is that really the lyrics?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, it is. Anyway, sure is.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's what got us onto that, which then got us on the Little Miss Can't Be Wrong. For some reason, I probably had the.

[Luke Burbank]

Darius that was written about his stepmother who he had a bad relationship with.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, I.

[Luke Burbank]

Spin doctor Little Miss. Yeah. She told him apparently that he would never amount to anything in the music industry. And he wrote Little Miss Can't Be Wrong about his stepmom.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wow. Little Bacon or what was that kid's name? Like, kind of Little Bacon. Who's that little kid who's like yelling at his stepmom in. In family swap that you used to use as a drop all the time?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, yeah, not his real mom, but yes, his, his, his. His mom. His wife swap his like his like pretend mom for the week. But yeah, that was from Real Little bit. You're right. Some spin doctors with some real Lil Bacon energy.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know what? Spin doctors walk so Lil Bacon could run. I am sorry. I'm gonna shut up now. Let's get going.

[Luke Burbank]

That's actually great. I actually like that. Michael Muhling loves it. He's in Mount Lake Terrace, Washington. Thank you, Michael. Also a big thanks to Serena Roberts, who's in Tacoma, Washington.

[Andrew Walsh]

I know some bands have to be coming to Tacoma pretty soon. I just don't know who they are right now.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I mean, that's the thing you've got. Because of the expansion of the local casino scene. You have the. The Emerald Queen Casino. The Northwest's. What? Biggest and best in the Northwest or whatever they say. That's straight up Tacoma. That's. That's when you're on i5 and you are driving through the heart of Tacoma. Basically that's right there. Then you've got the Muckle shoot. That's out in. That's out in the more Auburn area. So you've got different. You know, if they're coming to eqc, there's a good chance they're coming to where Serena is in Tacoma.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my God. You know who's coming to. This is crazy. Where is he coming? Tacoma. Albert? No. Airport Tavern? Music Hall? Mickey Avalon on January 20th.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, my.

[Andrew Walsh]

Do you want to go?

[Luke Burbank]

My degeneracy. Yes. Is it a time machine? Is it a time machine that will take me back to 20 years ago when I was just vibing with Mickey Avalon and living in LA and. And not living that lifestyle, but certainly admiring the debauched nature of Mickey Avalon's whole scene.

[Andrew Walsh]

I remember a very debauched. I don't know if you remember this night. A very debauched night of him. He. He was up here at the Showbox and you and me and a big group of friends went a long time ago.

[Luke Burbank]

That was Mickey. Airport Music Hall.

[Andrew Walsh]

Airport Tavern Music Hall. Is.

[Luke Burbank]

Is that in the. In like South Seattle or something?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, no, it's Tacoma, Washington. Sorry. I was looking up upcoming shows in Tacoma in case Serena wanted to go there.

[Luke Burbank]

I wonder what that would be like. For those of you who don't know, Mickey Avalon is this kind of, I guess you would say, rapper would be his style of music. I don't know, rapping, sing rapping, but like, it's kind of all over the place. But he was just this kind of like real kind of heroin thin white guy with a bunch of tattoos who was just doing these songs that were actually very catchy, but they were just all about. Just a life of, of drugs and womanizing and God knows what. And it just really had a moment, I want to say in the like maybe 2005 to 2010 era or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sounds about right to me, but I'm.

[Luke Burbank]

Wondering how that holds up, because I believe my guess is Mickey Avalon is roughly our age. Like, can you imagine, like a shirtless, tatted Luke on stage still doing those songs? It just feels like it's the kind of thing that doesn't. It doesn't travel along with you into your, say, 50s.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, exactly. He's almost 1975. He was born so difficult to pull off.

[Luke Burbank]

It doesn't have a long shelf life. It's one thing when you're 29 and you're just. I don't know what, you're in a moment of that. But as you get closer and closer to retirement, I think the music is a tougher and tougher sell.

[Andrew Walsh]

Although I guess Iggy Pop would have something to say about that as well.

[Luke Burbank]

So Iggy Pop has actually just transcended.

[Andrew Walsh]

All of it, really. Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what I mean? Like, I mean that literally. Like, I mean that, I mean that unsarcastically. Like, Iggy Pop has gone from being a total maniac, you know, a younger person who was a total maniac to being a middle aged person who's a total maniac to being a very senior citizen who remains a total maniac, remains shirtless on stage and just, just has. He's, he's just pushed through to where it. It now once again is transgressive, what he's doing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, the most transgressive thing is he sold his song to Royal Caribbean, his song about heroin.

[Luke Burbank]

But I mean, it's like there was 20 years in the middle where it was like, all right, Iggy. But now he's back to being like. It's back to being shocking when Iggy Pop does his thing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. I don't know if he never lost it. I. I'm not deep into the Iggy Poppiness of it, nor am I. But, yeah, no, I feel like he. I don't know. I wouldn't necessarily argue that he ever really kind of lost it. I feel like he kind of just just doubled down and tripled down and remained true to who he is. And that is who he is.

[Luke Burbank]

Absolutely. And also Sarah Newlin is who she is in Bothel, Washington.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, for probably for like a day or something, Right? A couple of days.

[Luke Burbank]

The original title for that song was Lust for a Day or a Lifetime.

[Andrew Walsh]

Famously.

[Luke Burbank]

See, see, I was able to connect all the dots of our donor. Thanks. Thank you, Sarah. And then thanks to Myra Lovell, who's in Portland, Oregon, one of my very favorite places to fly back to tomorrow.

[Andrew Walsh]

And one of my favorite donors. Thank you, Myra.

[Luke Burbank]

And hopefully I won't get lasered. It will be in the daytime, so I'm guessing that. That it'll be less likely. Although by the time I land in Portland, God knows, if it's past 4 o'clock, it could be getting dark again. I could be in danger once again. But thank you, Myra. We really do appreciate you. Thank you to all of our donors for making TBTL possible. Hello and welcome to Top Story. Just a quick follow up. This is not a particularly interesting or profound thing to say, but we did end up flying over some of the affected areas of the greater Los Angeles area last night, which I was like, really? Really? I was kind of obsessively tracking on my phone and nobody else seemed to care at all, which I found very odd. Like, you know, when you're flying on one of these flights, you can do the flight tracker, right? So you can kind of see like, where what the route of the airplane is and also where you are on that route.

[Andrew Walsh]

It doesn't really matter for the story. But I'm curious, are you talking about, like, the actual flightaware, like, software that I used to use to watch the planes that would fly above us? Are you talking about the app that is associated with the airline? Are you talking about the TV on the back of the screen, around the.

[Luke Burbank]

Back of the seat? No TV on the back of the seat on Alaska Airlines anymore. It's all like, byo bring your own tablet, I think, bring your own device. So it would be the Alaska. If you buy the WI FI on your Phone. Actually, I don't know if you have to buy the WI fi, but if you log into whatever the system is there where you can get free texting or you can pay eight bucks and get the WI fi, you then also, once you're engaged with their WI fi system, it's showing you this map.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yep.

[Luke Burbank]

But it's on their website or whatever you want. That's what I was looking at. And because we were flying to San Diego, it's certainly not the same as flying into Los Angeles. As far as the route you take. You kind of go more down Central California, you come over like Palmdale and Lancaster, and then eventually kind of cross the mountains near Burbank, which is, which is actually where on the other side of those mountains is where a lot of this stuff was. And what I was struck by was I didn't actually see any flames, which is what I was expecting to see. I don't know if it's because the smoke was obscuring the flames. I don't know if it was because of the angle that we took, we actually missed the parts that are still actively on fire. But what I can tell you, Andrew, is we flew over the Palisades and it is eerie because think about how like the greater Los Angeles area, LA County, Ventura county, all these places, they are lit up all night. There are so many people living and there's in these homes, there are so many streets, there's so many street lights. There's just the grid of it all, the illuminated grid of life in Southern California when you're flying over it at 7:00 at night is intense. And then there's just this giant, smoldering, dead black section with nothing in it. Because I mean, not only is there not electricity there, there are no homes there, there are no street lights there, there's nothing. It was like a. It was like a moon crater of non illumination. It was really, really eerie and not what I was expecting at all. I thought maybe again I was expecting to see a bunch of active fires and I'm not sure why it was. We didn't see that. If it had to do with the angle of approach or again, maybe the smoke was obscuring it. But again it was the fact that this area had no street lights on, no homes that were lit, nothing that really brought it home to me for some bizarre reason of just how intense and thorough the destruction of this area was.

[Andrew Walsh]

And did you say there was sort of. There seemed to be a lack of interest from the fellow passengers?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I mean, Everybody gets to live their life. But I was, like, obsessively refreshing this thing to figure out where we were, because I was like, we're about to fly over the thing that is consuming the national conversation right now, for good reason. And a natural disaster that's on the high, you know, is on an incredibly high order as far as the effects on people. And most people were just kind of like, watching their movies on their iPads or something. I don't know what I expected them to do, but it was like I was just. I just felt like I was. Maybe the people behind me were doing something, and I didn't know it. I just thought it was going to be more of a conversation I almost was trying to think through. Like, if I'm the pilots, do I say something? You know, like, normally, if you're flying past Mount Rushmore, the pilots will tell you, out of the left side of the plane, you can see Mount Rushmore. I was really having this whole conversation in my head, like, is it actually socially responsible of the pilots to say, hey, in about five minutes, if you're on the right side of the plane and you look out, you'll be able to see some of the areas that were damaged by the fire. And if there's something you think you can do as far as supporting various organizations, we really encourage you to do that. Like, is it actually socially responsible of the pilot to sort of make us look at it?

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, it's a lot to ask.

[Luke Burbank]

Of them, I think, and they didn't make an announcement.

[Andrew Walsh]

And it really probably depends on the personality of the pilot, as you know, from flying, a lot. Like, some personalities have much bigger personalities. Did I say, personally, some pilots have much bigger personalities than others. And I think I bring this up all the time. I think I just brought this up last week, the New Yorker cartoon of somebody sitting in their seat in airplane, and you hear the announcements saying, this is your. Your captain speaking, and this is your captain singing.

[Luke Burbank]

I've gotten that pilot before on Southwest.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I think that artist's name is Asher. I can't think of his first name right now. But anyway, all of that is to say, I could see a pilot if they had something to say, if they were from there, if they had some. But also, it is a. It is a. It is a tough message. And so, you know, I also don't think that it's like, the responsibility of the pilot to craft kind of. You don't know who is on your side. Totally not like, what you're off audience is if anybody has been affected by it, who doesn't. You know what I mean? Like, you gotta. I don't think it would have been out of place for somebody to say something there if it was well worded, but I don't think it's their responsibility to.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I didn't expect them to. But again, I just was like, we're flying over this. This thing that is, you know, the biggest story in America, I would say. And also, again, like, I don't know, to just sort of bear witness to it. That's a weird way to put it, but just. I think it would be good for everyone on the plane to look at this and to observe it. Just so that it hopefully impacts how we think about our fellow man and where we build homes. And I'm not saying that to try to blame the victims, the people who've lost their homes. That's not even the point. I mean, I do think we need to have a big conversation about where homes are rebuilt. And also, so what amount of fire load is allowed to develop in these areas and places. I mean, that's something that I didn't realize. I mean, I sort of knew it maybe generally, but something that I've been kind of getting obsessed with. There's this article called, like. It's called, like, the argument for Letting Malibu Burn. And that sounds very aggressive. And it's not saying, like, burn down everyone's houses, but it's like. I mean, the basic problem is it turns out. Andrew, I don't know if you know this, but. But the issue here is not trans firefighters. I know you've been saying that to anyone who will listen. You've been saying these fires have been intense because of DEI programs.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think it was tied to DEI in some way.

[Luke Burbank]

I just wanted to tell you, I've been doing some research. It turns out it's not. Turns out that's not the issue.

[Andrew Walsh]

It sounds like you can't say anything anymore.

[Luke Burbank]

It's just, you know, you have these cycles that happen. I mean, first of all, this is just an area that traditionally, like before we got here, it just burned down once every 10 years. You know, just that happened and that kept. Because there were no firefighters, there were no hydrants, there was no people trying to put the fires out. There were indigenous folks, but they were kind of had it figured out. They let these burns happen because once everything burned down, then it. It meant that you were never going to have a crazy bad fire because the biomass and the fire load was relatively low. But because we now fight every single fire because we build houses everywhere and then we can't stand to have a fire there for good reason. I wouldn't want a fire burning down my house either. We then put the fires out and then the answer becomes make sure there is never an ignition. So we now we live in a tinderbox. And as long as literally there's never a lightning strike or a spark anywhere, we're going to be okay. And clearly that isn't effective. I will tell you this. My latest obsession now is in trying to figure out how to fire harden my house.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, you do live. And it's funny. These stories are always, they're always personal to hear about. And of course, like we were talking about last week, you and I both know a lot of people in LA and the LA area and it's personal in that way, but it always feels remote to me as far as my own, you know, exposure to danger. I've just been lucky in that way.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I know that. I'm centering myself in the story because all of these people have lost their homes and people from, I can't stress this enough, and everybody knows this at this point from a wide, wide range of income spectrums. It is not exclusively the super wealthy who are losing their third home. That is happening sometimes, but it's a lot of people that are really, really, really on the margins and they're also losing their homes and they're, they don't have nearly the ability to bounce back. But so that's what's happening. And then somehow my takeaway from it is Google's is a metal roof good for fire hardening? Like, I become weirdly obsessed with the, like, I don't know, handful of people who ignored the evacuation warning and just stayed at their house with a garden hose, hosing their house down. Like, somehow that. I don't know why today is so much about unmanaged anxiety and where do we point that or where do we put it? But I see this stuff and then I think, man, I've been working so hard and spending so much of my money on trying to fix up my little house, which is, by the way, sitting on a hill surrounded by wild grass. If a fire in the summer were to start coming up the hill, it would be a really bad scene. And so then I start like thinking, well, I need to create a defensible space around my house. I need to get metal roofs, I need to set up a sprinkler system. Like, I just go into this weird mode of trying to like, protect myself, because I don't know what to do about my feelings around these other people who've lost their homes and lives as they knew it.

[Andrew Walsh]

You had. And I. I think it's okay to say this. I think you mentioned on the show, but I'll be. I'll be a little bit veiled here. You had a family member who also lives in a wooded part of the state.

[Luke Burbank]

My sister.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Okay. I wasn't sure. And her husband talking about that. And they had a real threat like that. That was one of those times where it's like, oh, shit, this stuff really comes home. It's not just something that you read about in the papers or you see people who are, like, physically distant from you dealing with in a different part of the country. When you were talking about your sister, weren't they, like. Were they. They wetting down parts of their buildings, or do they have an outbuilding or a house that they were actually hosing down? Or am I exaggerating that?

[Luke Burbank]

No, they were. They live in Washington state in a very wooded area, kind of in the Columbia Gorge area, it's called. And there was a fire that was working its way up, like, a ridge, if you will. And it was one of those things where. And they had just finished building this incredibly beautiful home. They bought this great piece of property. They lived in a yurt, like, with bunk beds, literal bunk beds. So my sister and her husband on the lower bunk bed and then their two rapidly growing sons on the upper bunk bed, and then the dog, Cora, in whichever bunk bed she felt like getting into that night. For years, while they saved money and got plans, permits approved, and basically ended up up, after all this sacrifice, building this really lovely home. And literally, like, the next summer, there's a fire that's working its way towards them that, depending on which way the wind blows, could either burn their whole house down or. Or go harmlessly in this other direction. Obviously, it went harmlessly in the other direction at the, like, 11th hour. But, like, I mean, it's just. It's crazy. Now. They live. You know, they live out in the. In. In the woods. And it's sort of the kind of thing where. Where it's. I mean, I don't want anything bad to happen to their house. But what's so crazy, it seems about a lot of these wildfires, whether it's the, like, Lahaina stuff, is in these urban environments is like, urban environments burning down now, like wildfire. I always thought of it as a thing that happened in the woods, but like now we've got uncontrolled fires within urban settings where just houses are burning down, like in neighborhoods. I mean that's, that's the part that I'm still trying to wrap my mind around. Like I, you know, it seems incredibly remote that like your house would be in danger, Andrew. But could you imagine a world in which Seattle is burning down and you're just like, shit, it's in Greenwood.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right? Exactly. And the fact that, I mean, I know that you and others have done a lot more reading on this probably than I have, but just this idea, that one article, the how, and now I'm an expert.

[Luke Burbank]

No, that just like that's all I need.

[Andrew Walsh]

I could be. I shouldn't even say this. I miss maybe misinterpreting the facts here, but it's notable that it's the buildings themselves that are carrying the fire forward. That the fuel, the fuel that is extending it is no longer the outskirts, the vegetation, the trees or whatnot. In fact, there are cases where there's actually green trees on the outskirts that are not burning because now it is actually the structures that are like it's going from structure to structure and that's the fuel that seems to be an outlier.

[Luke Burbank]

I remember being, of all things, doing a TV story about Jim Belushi's pot farm. You know, the kind of hard hitting journalism that America turns to me for. But what he really wanted to talk about, which I kind of actually admire, this was down where his pot farm is. It also is near some areas of Oregon that were burned by wildfire. Some neighborhoods in like a city or town called Talent, Oregon, and a place called, I think Phoenix, Oregon somewhat ironically. And he and I went down and just walked around in these neighborhoods and it was just wild because again, it was a neighborhood not dissimilar from the one you and Veeves live in. And then to just think that this fire, these fires, if they get going within an urban environment, are also not easily controlled and could just take out, you know, an entire city or whatever. I mean, it's just, it's. I'm not saying anything interesting here other than just, I guess processing live on the air, but it's just, it's just crazy. It's just, it, it just isn't. It doesn't feel like the same world that I grew up in. And maybe just to go back to our kind of original, to the original dark note that we started things off on. Maybe that's what you. Maybe. Oh, dude, I didn't even get into the Snoop Dogg commercial. That's on my last nerve.

[Andrew Walsh]

Can we.

[Luke Burbank]

Can we end. Can we end on a pa. Would.

[Andrew Walsh]

You end dunking on a Snoop Dogg commercial? Absolutely.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes. Yes. Something that means nothing, which is really honestly our lane instead of all of this heavy duty stuff that for some reason I decided to unload on a Monday. Okay. Have you noticed this, Andrew, that Snoop Dogg has now twice leaned into the. I'm gonna say something that sounds like something extreme, but I'm actually not at something else. Do you know what I'm talking about here?

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, the first thing I think of is a while back on Instagram, he said, I'm going smokeless. And we're like, what is this going to be like? He's going to be. I think a lot of people, myself included, thought, oh, he's like advertising some sort of weed vaping thing. Because, like, it would be a big headline of Snoop Dogg didn't smoke weed anymore. But then it ended up being for those. What's the brand name? I have one. The smokeless fire pits in the backyard. It was all just a promotional thing, which we all knew. But the fact that.

[Luke Burbank]

Solo stove.

[Andrew Walsh]

Solo stoves. Ye. I think he was sponsoring that. I'm going smokeless. And it got literal. Literally. Journalistic Enterprises had a headline, snoop Dogg says he's going smokeless, which was just so idiotic from the outset.

[Luke Burbank]

So now T Mobile is assaulting us with a commercial where Snoop Dogg is now, I guess, a news anchor. And he's like, patrick Mahomes is hanging it up.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And then everyone's like, what? And he's like, hanging up his old cell phone carrier and moving to T Mobile. It's like, how many times are they gonna write something where the premise is Snoop Dogg says something and you're supposed to, for a brief second, misinterpret it to be something truly shocking, when in fact it's not truly shocking. Like, how did that get that far up the chain at T Mobile now?

[Andrew Walsh]

Have you. What was I listening to? A lot of of. It's probably sports podcasts. Have you heard any of the audio versions of these Snoop Dogg radio T Mobile commercials?

[Luke Burbank]

No.

[Andrew Walsh]

And, you know, they were leading up to the holidays. I'm sorry, I'm being even more inarticulate again as I Google around here, but here I think, hold on, let me just see if this is. It's like. It's like Snoop Dogg, they had him record a bunch of phrases. I'm not joking. I think this might have been how they did it. They had him record a bunch of phrases and then they had like, some sort of, like, very weird white sounding radio guy saying stuff like this about T Mobile. Let me see if this saw or.

[Luke Burbank]

Heard one of these. And I, I will tell you this. I was impressed at Snoop Dogg's white guy impression.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, did he see the version I'm thinking of? I don't know that he did one. He was just like, yeah, that's right, dog. And be like, hold on, Snoop, hold on. Let me see if this is the version.

[Luke Burbank]

It's time to review the top three highlights of the day. I'm joined, as always, by my CO angle.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hey, what up, Doe?

[Luke Burbank]

Snoop number one has to be getting the new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence at T Mobile. Yeah, you should hustle down to T Mobile like a dog chasing a squirrel chasing a nut. Nice analogy, Snoop. Dogs do love to chase squirrels, and.

[Andrew Walsh]

Squirrels love to chase those nuts on.

[Luke Burbank]

The highlight number two, with T Mobile, families can save 20 every month versus the other big guys.

[Andrew Walsh]

That is very impressive.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, y'all can take some of those savings and buy some Snoop merchandise. That's exactly what I'm planning on doing.

[Andrew Walsh]

With my savings, Snoop.

[Luke Burbank]

Now take it away, snoop.

[Andrew Walsh]

Head to t mobile.com and get. So this is a different version than what I've heard, but I've heard bits of it. It's like all been. It's been chopped up and little bits of it. But, like, where. I swear there is a version where it's so chopped that it's just him saying something Snoop esque and then their guy is saying like, slow down, Snoop doggy dog. It is so. But it's those two guys.

[Luke Burbank]

I want the oral history on where physically Snoop recorded those wild tracks.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, right.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, like, was it. Did he go into, like, first of all, what was the actual duration of time that took him? And did he actually go into a studio for it or was part of the deal? We're gonna send a guy and a shotgun microphone out to Snoop Dogg's hotel room, and These are the 20 wild tracks we need from you. Wild lines. Because the only way Snoop Dogg can be generating as much content as he is is it just must be the kind of thing where. Where he is literally obligated to be doing something for 15 minutes. He just rolls up somewhere, they throw up a green screen behind him, they feed him the lines, he says them three times and he's out.

[Andrew Walsh]

And, you know, I'm a little bit bummed. Let me just. Can I just try one more of These. This might be the same exact one. I will give them credit that I think part of the bad sound quality of that one, a little bit echoey might be like, it's hard sometimes to find TV commercials online, but radio commercials are especially hard to find online because nobody's archiving radio commercials publicly in that way. So I that the sound quality in that one might have been worse than even like what I've heard on podcasts. It might have been whoever captured it. But let's take a listen to this.

[Luke Burbank]

With T Mobile you can get tons of benefits and still save on every.

[Andrew Walsh]

Plan versus at Verizon because no, this has nothing to do with Snoop Dogg. Sorry. Another example, by the way, of just terrible sound quality.

[Luke Burbank]

I want to shout out that they hired the world's best sound alike band to write a song that sounds like, like 1901 by the band Phoenix.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh yeah, that commercial.

[Luke Burbank]

Every time it gets me, I'm like, oh, they used a Phoenix song. Nope, they used something that sounds exactly like the Phoenix song.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think I can call this up right now. I think about you sometimes. Cause I've been thinking about like, is there a way I can. I think about you when I'm in the shower and lathering up and usually the first thing I think of when I wake up and you're trying to make me uncomfortable.

[Luke Burbank]

You're making me more comfortable.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm getting, getting too comfortable. There is some music. Okay, this might be it. Let me see if I can do this, because you will be. If I can do this right, you will be so appalled. When is this?

[Luke Burbank]

No one gets mad at a sound alike like old lv.

[Andrew Walsh]

This isn't even a sound alike. And I don't know if this is going to be right or not. But Luke, as you know, and I can't complain about this because I'm grabbing these NFL streams almost every game I watch this weekend I grab from some sort of like, you know, gray market link. And that's probably giving it too much credit.

[Luke Burbank]

Fubo yourself. Just why don't you. Why don't you Fubo yourself like everyone else? Like, I cannot tell you, Andrew, the reason I was able to watch every one of these games anytime. I was just like waiting in an airport. Whatever. Pop open my cellular phone, hit that damn Fubo app, watch whatever game is on. It's a game changer.

[Andrew Walsh]

The mobile thing is tempting, but honestly, like the. I have a site now that's pretty locked in. Like once you find a stream, you're pretty much Good. It's not terrible. Although it was funny. You texted me, you're like, I was looking for this game and it turns out it's on Prime. I'm like, oh, my God, I have Prime. I pay for Prime. I was watching it.

[Luke Burbank]

What a treat.

[Andrew Walsh]

I was watching it on a illegal stream. Like, I can move over. And one of the things that is the most annoying about the illegal streams that I watch is. And this has nothing to do with their legality, it's just that they're often grabbed from the NFL Network, I think. And the NFL Network will not show commercials. I don't know why. What the deal is, they didn't sell that time or whatever. So you'll see the very beginning snippet of a commercial and then it goes to a screen that just, I believe, shows some sort of like, I don't know, sort of like black and white version of the NFL shield or logo or something like that. And the loudest, most obnoxious music plays on loop. It is like. It is like hold music if it was created literally by the devil. Like it is. It is like it loops, but it also is very intense. And then it has a beat drop. And I don't think I'm looking for this on the fly. I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while, but I did not want to, Luke. I didn't want to do it like this. I wanted to be prepared. I wanted to have the. But I'm going to try. And if this is a failure, I'm not going to keep clicking around. If this is a failure and this is not the right music, then I am going to look for it and I'll have it for you tomorrow because it is so awful. Let's see if this is it. Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

Nice needle drop, dude.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hold on. Let's see if we get to the beat drop.

[Luke Burbank]

This level gets you hyped, Luke. This doesn't get too hyped for Chargers Falcons, Luke.

[Andrew Walsh]

That. So apparently it is exactly 30 seconds and they loop that for an entire three or four minute commercial break. And like you're just like, you know, again, like, I'm most of. I'm doing most of my kind of football watching in the kitchen. I'm maybe making coffee and hot chocolate for Pop up. Or I'm making dinner, making eggs, whatever. Like I'm always doing something. And then I have to race across the room because it's also louder than the broadcast, of course. So I have to race. You have no idea. Like, I am willing to Give up. I don't even have state secrets. I am willing to give up state secrets. Hearing this on the loop for like four times in a row, it is absolutely maddening.

[Luke Burbank]

I wonder why, from a technical standpoint, they even think there needs to be music.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's a good point. I mean, it might be a cue so that when the. If it just goes quiet. Well, no, because somebody switches over.

[Luke Burbank]

I mean, I feel like this is all gotta be automated. Like, I wonder why it would even. Because this is the NFL Network. So if you. Let's say you were paying exorbitant fees to watch, but you would be seeing commercials, presumably, if you were watching this on real television. Right. Or is. Is this because they're not doing this to like, paying subscribers? Those people are getting ads, right?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, that's the thing. The. The. The music that we're hearing now has nothing to do with the fact that I'm. I'm grabbing these streams illegally. It's just somebody grabbing their NFL Network stream and putting.

[Luke Burbank]

So that's happening on the NFL Network.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's my point. Yeah. Because there would. No, this isn't like some give me commercial. Why would a bootlegger carry.

[Luke Burbank]

Give me the Buffalo Wild Wings guy doing an obvious Will Arnett impression.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's. Oh, God.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, that sound alikes.

[Andrew Walsh]

No. Fight the Buffalo Wild Wings 1. I don't know if I've seen, but I did see Will Arnett.

[Luke Burbank]

Have you heard where the Buffalo. There's a buffalo with wings and he is.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that commercial.

[Luke Burbank]

So clearly doing a Will Arnett impress. Because Will Arnett is like, other than H. John Benjamin, he's the only VO artist we can turn to in these turbulent times. He's doing like everything Reese's, whatever that truck is Ford. It's like, it's a vibe. It's a Will Arnett vibe. And then they were like, clearly the Buffalo Wild Wings people were like, we want Will Arnett. We can't afford Will Arnett. We're gonna get hire a guy to do a Will Arnett impression as the Buffalo.

[Andrew Walsh]

He's also on screen doing stuff for Dick's Sporting Goods. Now, I saw that this weekend for the first time. He's doing. He's in some commercials with him and the Geico Gecko commerce. I don't know if those have maybe sunset now, but like, yeah, Will Arnett, man, he is just on every single commercial. And I love that, man. But I got to say, I don't love. I don't. I hate the Reese's commercials. I hate the like, not. Sorry. You're welcome. Having said all of that, I was.

[Luke Burbank]

Today years old when I learned about these adulting.

[Andrew Walsh]

I've decided that adulting is my least favorite word ever.

[Luke Burbank]

All the things. Andrew, would you say they're doing all the things in those hours.

[Andrew Walsh]

But yeah, no, that NFL music I played for you is what the end. It's my understanding that is what the. That's brutal. And I don't know what it. Why they don't play commercials. It must have to do with, you know, rights. Like they didn't sell that time. So they're not going to give it free to Reese's or.

[Luke Burbank]

I know, but it's like I feel like that's a. That's a.

[Andrew Walsh]

People get mad when I say Reese's. And I think those people hate fun. By the way. I think it's so much more fun to say Reese's. I don't care what Reese's. Yeah, it's like Reese's. It's Reese's Pieces, but it's fun to see Reese's.

[Luke Burbank]

I would have said Reese's.

[Andrew Walsh]

Reese's Pieces. It's fun, everybody just have some fun with it. Come on, you guys.

[Luke Burbank]

Guys, honestly, calm down. We're one of the most fun podcasts out there. Did you hear today's show?

[Andrew Walsh]

Come on. I've had a hell of a day.

[Luke Burbank]

Come on, you guys. I mean, this is a fun little frolic on a Monday.

[Andrew Walsh]

What are we doing? Let's get out of here.

[Luke Burbank]

On tomorrow's program, Andrew, I. I would like to talk to you about this and I don't know if you had a chance to read it or not, but if not, maybe you will see it by tomorrow.

[Andrew Walsh]

I scanned it, but I need to really read it.

[Luke Burbank]

It's a phenomenal story and a phenomenal piece of reporting that I can't believe believe has not gotten more attention, which is a dude who has been actively hating on BOB Dylan for 40 to 50 years, who is taking the recent ascendance of Bob Dylan's image with the Complete Unknown movie as his cue to re engage with his lifelong project. It's a. I every. I was reading, I was like, there's no way this is real. I can't. This is amazing to me. So we'll talk about it tomorrow. And also why I feel like I might have to move to San Diego, Andrew. And it involves Sunshine, the military industrial complex. I bet you weren't expecting those words.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, not at all. I really thought we're going to do a weather thing there.

[Luke Burbank]

Nope. Well, that's, listen, that's number two with a bullet, but it has to do with, with shiny, shiny ships, which I'll tell you about tomorrow. In the meantime. Meantime, that's going to wrap things up for today's episode. Thank you for listening. If you made it to the end, tomorrow's going to be just high fives and good feelings and San Diego energy, I promise. In the meantime, have a great Monday. Take care of yourselves, particularly if you're one of the effect in one of the affected places in this country, weather wise, fire wise, etc. And we hope to see you tomorrow when we'll be back here with more imaginary radio. In the meantime, please remember, no mountain.

[Andrew Walsh]

Too tall and good luck to all. Power out.