#4622 Dog Bites Dave

Summary

TBTL Episode #4622: Dog Bites Dave

Date: December 18, 2025
Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh

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Episode Overview

In this Thursday edition of TBTL, Luke and Andrew riff on everything from rainy weather in the Pacific Northwest to the proper etiquette of podcasting software, and most notably, the current Portland furor over David Sedaris’s viral New Yorker essay about being bitten by a dog. The conversation twists through topics like technical podcasting trials, public radio ethics, old movies, and handling age milestones—with their signature blend of self-deprecation, sharp pop culture insight, and tangents galore. The episode also features their weekly "Blursday" birthday shoutouts and an extended dissection of the Seattle Seahawks' prospects, football viewing rituals, and the emotional toll of sports fandom.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Pacific Northwest Weather & Show Start Banter ([01:14])

• Luke opens by commiserating about the relentless rain:
  "Where once again, it's just absolutely dumping, dumping rain. It's like being inside the mighty Columbia river here right now."
• Andrew chimes in:
  "There's almost no difference between the air and the liquid water. It's all kind of the same thing right now."

2. Podcast Tech Woes and Workflow Epiphanies ([03:03]–[08:07])

• Luke admits he's been using the wrong recording workflow for years, which may have hindered his interactions with Andrew via Riverside.
• Andrew walks Luke through setting up a picture-in-picture to keep visual contact while accessing soundboards, an improvement they hope uplifts the "performance" and connection.
• Both hosts share the awkwardness of realizing you might have been talking to yourself for minutes during technical dropouts:
  • Andrew: "It's a really embarrassing feeling even though I'm the only one who experienced it."
  • Luke: "You sort of feel like the roadrunner—or sorry, you feel like Wile E. Coyote. You thought there was more road underneath you, and there wasn't."

3. David Sedaris’s Dog Bite Essay and the Portland Uproar ([11:06]–[24:53])

• Context: David Sedaris wrote a widely-discussed essay about being bitten by a dog in Portland, connecting it to broader city issues, including drug policy.
• Andrew hasn't read the essay but saw a "damning headline" (likely from Willamette Week) critiquing Sedaris as out-of-touch and unfairly critical of Portland.
• Both note generational divides:
  • Andrew:
    "As he's getting older, he's been criticized a lot...not a lot, but a couple of essays he's written as kind of losing touch...just becoming kind of [a] cranky old man."
• Luke is less disturbed by the essay’s tone and more obsessed with a possible timeline continuity error:
  • He remembers Sedaris discussing this dog bite years ago and even emailed Sedaris directly for clarification:
    "...I have this memory of this thing happening now. Again, this is the week of L's for L. This is the week of me being so wrong about so many things that I'm really in my head about this....This morning, I really pulled the...I broke the glass in case of emergency, and I pulled the lever that is 'email David Sedaris directly'..." ([16:09])
• The hosts parse whether the essay is recent or pulled from older material, musing on how New Yorker essays might be evergreen or exaggerated for comic effect.
• Larger point: Both agree that it's possible to disagree with a beloved figure like Sedaris without needing to "cancel" or fully endorse him.
  • Andrew:
    "I think it's...one of those things where it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I don't think you have to be angry at David Sedaris for being out of touch, but you can just disagree."

Notable Quotes:

• Luke ([20:54]):
  "Again, this couldn't be less important other than I feel like I'm losing my mind and would like to hang onto it for at least a few more years."

4. A Detour into Customer Service and Bank Phone Trees ([34:00]–[41:16])

• Andrew gets a customer service call following the purchase of a microphone arm, and the two riff on white-glove service for small-ticket items and annoying upsell tactics.
• They vent about the Byzantine process for opting out of bank “savings roundup” schemes, bemoaning how hard financial institutions make routine customer service:
  • Andrew: "It could be like a masked burglar in here holding two bags with dollar signs on them and there's no number for me to call the bank...Why is it so difficult to opt out?"

5. Old Movie Talk: 'Misery', 'When Harry Met Sally', and 'The Thin Man' ([45:46]–[33:54])

• Luke is on a Rob Reiner kick—rewatched "When Harry Met Sally" and waxes nostalgic about 90s NYC in film and young Meg Ryan, calling the film nearly "ahistoric".
• Andrew saw "The Thin Man," discovers the sparkling chemistry of Myrna Loy and William Powell, and compares the sharpness of old screenwriting to modern comedies.
  • Andrew, on "The Thin Man" ([30:56]):
    "I was blown away at how good it was...it's not hard boiled...their love is always a ball-breaking kind of love..."
• Both reflect on how pace and wordplay in old black and white films contrast with much of today's cinema.

6. Seahawks Game Anxiety & Football Watching Rituals ([45:19]–[55:35])

• The hosts prepare emotionally for the big Seahawks-Rams game, discussing where and how to watch for maximum stress moderation.

  • Luke:
    "I'm either going to feel real good by about 8:30pm or real bad...There's something about just going into that scenario..."
  • Andrew:
    "If I only get to watch a couple of games and this one is huge for us...I think I want to be, like, kind of here at home, locked in, probably by myself."

• Extended speculation on:

  • The Seahawks' recent play-calling conservatism.
  • Playoff ramifications.
  • The psychological effects of fandom ("cloud nine or a little bummed").
  • Technical details of getting Thursday Night Football over-the-air since Andrew has ditched Amazon Prime.

7. Listener Community and the TBTL Holiday Zoom Party ([55:35]–[58:11])

• Details on the upcoming all-listener Zoom holiday party; open invitation, no pressure to speak, just to share or listen and build community.

8. Blursday: Listener Birthday (and Life Event) Shoutouts ([59:10]–[73:41])

• A classic segment with listener birthday shoutouts, ranging from little kids to a listener hitting full retirement age.
• Highlights of affection for loved ones, inside jokes exchanged through the show, and a running joke about how listeners should submit Blursdays (yell in direction of Seattle vs. email).
• Lots of warm energy and clever parent/partner birthday submissions.

Notable Blursday Quotes:

• Phyllis Fletcher's note to her son Gus ([61:55]):
  "I'm excited you got glasses this year. Now you look just a little bit more like Mom...Happy blursday. That's amazing, Luke. [Gus] is 16 years old. He's out there saving lives and driving a car and both pumping me up and, I would say, slightly negging me."
• Listener Adam ([66:01]):
  "45 was a blah year, but damn it, I'm going to do my best to make 46."

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On podcast tech breakthroughs ([07:22], Andrew):
  "Andrew, you my friend, are an absolute. You're a genius."
• On cultural disagreement ([24:53], Luke):
  "The older I'm getting, the more I'm going in the direction of what you described, which was, like...there's a couple things in there I was like, ah, I don't know if that's the most generous interpretation...but whatever. That's how he feels. And then also, the Willamette Week can write up their thing..."
• On football fandom ([46:07], Luke):
  "I'm either going to feel real good by about 8:30pm or real bad."
• On bank phone trees ([41:04], Andrew):
  "I've been sitting with a personal banker and like the way that the personal banker can fix my issue is by calling the same number I was just on hold with for a day and a half."
• On generational changes in Sedaris’ work ([13:45], Andrew):
  "People who were maybe liberal or progressive and assume that they're in agreement on everything with him maybe are not so much."

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:14]–[02:45]: PNW weather and show intro
• [03:03]–[08:07]: Podcast workflow tech talk
• [09:22]: Anxiety of talking into the void during dropouts
• [11:06]–[24:53]: David Sedaris essay discussion (Portland, timeline confusion, reaching out directly to Sedaris)
• [34:00]–[41:16]: Customer service call / bank frustrations
• [45:46]–[45:46]: Rob Reiner movies and old film appreciation
• [45:19]–[55:35]: Seahawks football game anticipation
• [55:35]–[58:11]: TBTL holiday Zoom party details
• [59:10]–[73:41]: Blursday birthday/anniversary/life milestone messages

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Tone & Style

The tone is loose, irreverent, and hyper-self-aware, with plenty of playful ribbing, in-jokes, and "meta" discussion about their own podcasting processes and anxieties. The show leans toward rambling, but with genuine warmth and listener inclusivity at its core. Both hosts balance nostalgic affection for Northwest culture with gentle exasperation at the indignities of modern life, customer service, and getting older.

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Summary for the Uninitiated

If you haven't listened:
This episode features the hallmark TBTL banter—part existential therapy, part media criticism, part geek-out on Pacific Northwest life. The biggest throughline is the David Sedaris dog bite essay and the oddity of memory, media outrage, and the passage of time. Along the way, there are confessions about broadcasting mistakes, pod-tech hacks, old movie recommendations, the fraught joy of sports fandom, and listener community celebrations. If you’re looking for a thoughtful, funny, and welcoming corner of podcasting, this episode is classic TBTL.

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Power out.

Transcript

[Luke Burbank]

Rollo, the chocolate treat with Carol inside.

[Andrew Walsh]

Rolo, Rolo Roll your boat gently in my mouth. Pop top, check it out. Lick the foil with your tongue.

[Luke Burbank]

Give it to your friends as a gift.

[Andrew Walsh]

As a gift.

[Luke Burbank]

Let's change gears. Rolo, Tony Brown town Check yourself at the door. Give me some more, give me some.

[Andrew Walsh]

More Give me some more of your Rolos. That's pretty good. Tbt. This is my jam right here. Yeah, most people think I'm on drugs.

[Luke Burbank]

Cause I'm always happy. Are you on drugs? No, I'm not. I'm high on life. We may have created a monster in a lab.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's not a monster. It's a cyborg that can kill without remorse.

[Luke Burbank]

And there's just nothing wrong with listening ever. So listen. If you know what's good for you, remember.

[Andrew Walsh]

To achieve success, you must first conceive it and believe in it. Remember, impossible is nothing.

[Luke Burbank]

Alright? Hello, good morning and welcome everyone to a Thursday edition of tbtl, the show that just might be too beautiful to live. Oh, it might not be good for.

[Andrew Walsh]

The mind, but it's most definitely good for the soul.

[Luke Burbank]

My name is Luke Burbank. I'm your host. Hello, everybody. Coming to you from the Medrona Hill studio perched high above the mighty Columbia, where once again, it's just absolutely dumping, dumping rain.

[Andrew Walsh]

It is like we're.

[Luke Burbank]

It's like being inside the mighty Columbia river here right now. There's almost no difference between the air and the liquid water. It's all kind of the same thing right now. It tastes like soot and hot water.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm hooked.

[Luke Burbank]

So ready for this stuff to be over. But I'm also so ready to start episode 4622 in a collector's series, Let the Fun Begin. David Sedaris wrote a an essay in the New Yorker about being bitten by a dog in Portland. And it's kind of a larger, you might say broadside against a lot of the policies in Portland and things like that. But there's. There's an element of the article that has me absolutely losing my mind and questioning my very memory. Memories are made in. In your mouth. To the point where I emailed David Sedaris this morning to try to get. I don't know how to. I don't know how to solve this mystery besides just going to the guy who wrote it and asking him to clarify something for me. So we'll probably get into that. We'll definitely get into the blursdays here on this Thursday. It's my birthday today and we'll say hello to this young man. Longest running cobra of the show may be best known for his depictions of the tall ships.

[Andrew Walsh]

This slidey guy always worries.

[Luke Burbank]

He is Andrew Walsh and he's joining me right now. Good morning, my friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

Good morning, Luke. Sorry, I forgot about my mute button there for a second. Was there a little skip in your heart there? As it took me an extra second to say hello. Did you worry that the ISDN line was down?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, the issue is. And by the way, I just figured out yesterday that I've been doing this show all wrong from a technical standpoint for you for now years as it relates to Riverside.

[Andrew Walsh]

I would say also from a stylistic standpoint.

[Luke Burbank]

But let's start with the technical standpoint and content. But you know what? Let's start with the things we can fix.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sure.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes. Let's shoot the alligator that's closest to the boat, as they say in recovery. Okay.

[Andrew Walsh]

Do they say that? I thought they said that. I thought you were gonna say that. You learned that when you're on the boat out in Miami.

[Luke Burbank]

When I was with. When me and Ice Cube and Jon Voight were on that river cruise looking for that anaconda.

[Andrew Walsh]

Uh huh. Uh huh.

[Luke Burbank]

They said shoot the anaconda that's closest to the boat. I think that's a recovery thing. Meaning that when you're dealing with a suite of issues, when you're dealing with a bunch of problems, you start with the one that's most likely to kill you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

The alligator that's closest to the boat. You kill that one first and then you work your way through.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now, what would PETA change that to, though?

[Luke Burbank]

You cuddle the alligator closest to the boat.

[Andrew Walsh]

You spoon the alligator that's close to.

[Luke Burbank]

The big spoon with the littlest alligator that's closest to the boat.

[Andrew Walsh]

Great job.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't know, Wes. What would you say if you're even real?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, did I tell you I got a follow up from Wes?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, but that proves nothing. It just proves. It's just still scraping the Internet for mentions.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, so, but.

[Luke Burbank]

And I found that his response was also very parse. So you didn't say. I'm not scraping the inter. I did see it and it did nothing for me.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, the good news is you're back in your TBTL email. Okay, listen, I've gotten only on that one computer. I've distracted you too much. So, okay, let's shoot.

[Luke Burbank]

When we are talking to each other on this Internet connection called Riverside, we can see each other. And. But also when I'm at the beginning of the show, I'm looking at a different screen that has all of the little audio drops on it that I'm going to activate when the time is appropriate and what that means. Hold on. Sneeze incoming.

[Andrew Walsh]

Uh oh. Oh, we had sneeze. We need some sneeze music. We had this set up when we were talking about Rob Reiner. Pass. All right.

[Luke Burbank]

Okay. And. And so what happens is I often I'm not looking at you when I'm playing those little sound effects. And then I will just forget for possibly the remainder of the show that we have visuals. Potentially I'll just be on my screen looking at that audio board screen and, and missing it. Not that it. It matters so much in terms of. Because this is mostly released as an audio product. But like that little hiccup we had at the beginning where you forgot to unmute your microphone because I wasn't looking at you. I did literally wonder if the connection.

[Andrew Walsh]

Went down just for a split second.

[Luke Burbank]

But here's the thing. There's a feature on Old Riverside. Yeah. Where I can be looking at anything I need to on my computer and you and I are just in a much smaller little window up in the corner and when. Is that what it's called?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, like the software product Zoom will also sort of minimize into a little picture and picture. So you can always.

[Luke Burbank]

This is the thing, I don't know how to do that. It just happened accidentally yesterday. I can't reproduce it now.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think just minimize your like, you know, your whole window and it should do it, I think. Or just open another tab. Open another tab and.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, the problem is it's not at my sound device is not another tab. It's an app.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's a good point. Yeah. Because it does it automatically for me when I open another tab. But you're right, that's not web based. So I don't know.

[Luke Burbank]

Somehow yesterday, without meaning to, I had it going where you and I, I could see you, I could see your cute little face and my face in like a kind of a picture. In picture. But it also allowed me to then play my sound effects and do other things and they were not in competition with. With each other. And I was like, oh, this is the perfect solution.

[Andrew Walsh]

How do I do it here? Okay, so I just recreated it. I don't have your special sound software, but I just recreated it using Spotify. What you want to do. I'm going to walk you through this and this is good for the listeners too. So if you are ever Using Riverside to podcast with someone.

[Luke Burbank]

Play audio out of Faragio, but playing.

[Andrew Walsh]

Audio out of Fragio. Here's what I think you want to do. First of all, just forget about Ferragio for a second and I'm sorry, we're going to come back.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm on Riverside. I'm on Riverside in Chrome. I'm looking at you now. I'm locked in.

[Andrew Walsh]

Open a new T in in the, in the Chrome browser. It doesn't even matter if it goes to anything. Oh, then now that, now that is activated, the picture in picture mode. Now open Foragio again and it'll stay a floating little window, I believe.

[Luke Burbank]

Andrew, you my friend, are an absolute. You're a genius.

[Andrew Walsh]

Real time genius. Heard that in real time.

[Luke Burbank]

I love this so much. Like I'm half joking about the kind of that it took me years and years to even know this was a thing, but it legitimately will improve. I don't know if it'll improve my performance, but will improve something because what it means is now I don't have to choose between keeping eyes on you and maybe bingo and things that are happening. Before this, before this breakthrough, it was possible that you could have keeled over in the middle of the show and it would have taken me minutes, if not hours to realize it, depending on.

[Andrew Walsh]

How deep into a story you were.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm looking at my sound effects and I've completely zoned out about the visuals. So this is good. I'm very excited about this.

[Andrew Walsh]

Something that sometimes happens on this show that I don't know if we've ever talked about and I don't know if you've experienced this to the same degree on your end. I assume you have to a certain degree. But like you like we have this screen in front of us so we can see each other, but I'm not always looking at it, especially when I'm talking. I feel like my eyes wander all over the place and I'm not really looking at you. So there are times and it's a really. It ends up being a very embarrassing feeling even though I'm the only one who experienced it. I can't explain the feeling, but I'll be talking and talking and talking. Maybe you even ask me like a follow up question that I'm going into all these details. But then you and I, I think subconsciously in ways that we don't even realize, sort of feed off of each other's just little sort of audible nods of approval to go along with us there like that. Uh huh. You Know, like that you don't want to do that too much because then you end up like the guy from the Daily. But, you know, like these little audio cues you have, but sometimes when those go away, you just keep talking and talking and talking, and then you get done and there's nothing and the other person just doesn't say anything. And then you realize, oh, we've been disconnected.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

For minutes. For minutes. And you're just like, I've just been blabbing my. I'm gonna swear I've been blabbing my ass off and nobody's been hearing it. And I'm such a blabber mouth. I didn't even know I was talking to myself. It's an embarrassing feeling.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm a. I'm a poet and I didn't even know I was rhyming Finns, right? What's he say, Rip man even know.

[Andrew Walsh]

I was writing those words.

[Luke Burbank]

That is a. That is a bad feeling because it. I think, considering this is our job, you and I are both still highly sensitive in real social situations about not reading the room or going on and on about something or like, considering that our whole job is to more or less fill time on here based on the idea that we are somehow inherently interesting people. I think you and I are both very, like, never want to be the person at the function who's dominating the conversation or talking about themselves endlessly. And when you're in the presence of someone like that, it's very off putting. And so there's something about realizing that, like, yeah, I've just been going on and on, and that happens to me maybe even more than you, because I. Until this breakthrough, I would say 80% of most shows, I'm not looking at a screen that even has you on there. So, like, if I was, I could see that it's frozen or maybe it's gone away. There's a visual indicator, but I'm flying pretty blind here a lot of the time. And so I feel like I do that sometimes. And yeah, it's a. You sort of feel like the roadrunner or. Sorry, you feel like Wile E. Coyote.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

You went out, you thought that. You thought there was more road underneath you, and there wasn't.

[Andrew Walsh]

That is actually a perfect analogy. That is because you're just like, you're going and you're going, you're going, but something just is kind of like feels a little bit off. And then all of a sudden you look down.

[Luke Burbank]

Should we talk about the Sedaris thing?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. So I have not read this piece. But when you said you were writing.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't think you should read the piece. I think it would. I think it would anger you.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, it was funny because I read a little blurb about it in whatever the Portland Free Press is and so.

[Luke Burbank]

The Willamette Week, probably, or the Mercury. Yes, I think the Willamette Week is.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think it was the Willamette.

[Luke Burbank]

Still, the.

[Andrew Walsh]

More.

[Luke Burbank]

By the way, Willamette Week is. I've said this before recently on the show. It is a really good weekly newspaper. And I don't know how they're doing it, but they're still doing a ton of original reporting. And I salute them. I salute them by purchasing a tote bag and also purchasing an issue of a free magazine they put out, which I did not know was free until I was in a store in Portland and I told Becca, oh, I just bought that. She goes, why it's free? Oh, I don't know.

[Andrew Walsh]

So you took it up to the register and they just like, sort of scanned it?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, it just said free on it. Basically, they do like their version of Dwell magazine, the Willamette Week. It's about, you know, people in Portland and the kind of choices they make about their homes. And I was reading it and I thought it looked really cool. And I went on their merch page and I realized, I think what I paid for was the shipping.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I see.

[Luke Burbank]

More so than the magazine. I had it shipped out here to the place. All that is to say I'm a Willamette Week fan. I'm guessing that this was mentioned in the Willamette.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think it was. And it was a sort of a damning headline as one of those like his because, you know, people like you and I, NPR fans who grew up kind of in, you know, like, kind of came of NPR age in the 90s and 2000s. Huge fans of David Sedaris. I know you know him personally, and I am. I'm a big fan, too. But I also know that as he's getting older, he's been criticized a lot for. Not a lot, but a couple of essays he's written as kind of losing touch with the common person and just becoming kind of cranky old man sort of. And like, people who were maybe liberal or progressive and assume that they're in agreement on everything with him maybe are not so much. So I see this article that's complaining about him, and I click on it. And honestly, again, I think it was Willamette weak. I don't want to throw Anybody under the bus. But the complaints in the piece that I read seemed a little bit weak tea to me. I know that he sort of. It's about getting bit by a dog and probably by a homeless person or somebody maybe doing drugs on the street. So kind of have these elements. And it was a defensive article that I read from the perspective of somebody who truly loves and feels defensive of their city. And here's another person from outside the city who is pointing out some of the stuff that you see on the sidewalks of Portland that don't represent the whole city. But honestly, I was kind of expecting to read this and be like, yeah, David Sedaris, what are you doing? But honestly, it just sort of sounded like somebody who loves their city and was slightly uncomfortable with his depiction of it.

[Luke Burbank]

I think the people in Portland, yeah, the people in Portland, particularly at the Willamette Week and folks that are boosters of Portland feel like Portland gets a lot of crap already. And yes, we all love David Sedaris. I love David Sedaris a lot. And so to have him, because the piece is about this moment where he gets bitten by a dog, and essentially nobody seems even moderately upset. In fact, they're worried about the dog. And he takes that as a kind of an indication of the overall sort of deterioration of Portland. And he kind of gets into some policy stuff and talking about when they decriminalize small amounts of drugs. The opening graph is pretty tough on Portland from Sedaris. But this is the thing that I cannot figure out, and it's driving me crazy. I have a memory. So I saw the same headline you did, probably from the Willamette Week that was something like, david Sedaris was bitten by a dog, and now he's taking it out on Portland or something like that. And I thought, well, yeah, I know, but he got bit by a dog in Portland a long time ago, like three, four years ago. I have this memory of this thing happening now. Again, this is the week of L's for L. This is the week of me being so wrong about so many things that I'm. I'm really in my head about this. I have this because the essay was just published in the New Yorker this week. So all of the. All of the response to it and the kerfuffle around it is basically, is new. And all the SEO and all the trending, it's all from right now. But I swear to God, I heard him either talk about this on a talk show or like, I have a very strong memory of a few Years ago, hearing about David Sedaris getting bitten by a dog in Portland. Maybe I heard it from the dog. I don't know where I got this information, but I swear to God, this happened a few years ago. Now that has nothing to do in my mind with the sort of, you know, I guess you could say the salience of what he's writing. Like, he's entitled to his opinion. And this is not an attempt by me to, like, then prove that his essay is more or less valid. It's just. It's driving me crazy. So I got it because Becca sent me the article. She's like, did you hear about Sedaris? He's going off on Portland. I said, yeah, but like, like, the dog bit him a long time ago. And she was like, the essay was just out this week. I go, I know, but I. So I go on the Internet and I can't get any satisfaction on this.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, because everything is going to be. All the.

[Luke Burbank]

Everything is rooted in the essay coming out last week. So even AI, like, as if AI is the highest.

[Andrew Walsh]

Even AI, even.

[Luke Burbank]

Look how quick, boy, how quick did that go from I don't want to read the AI to like, even the AI is not giving me help on this, Andrew. But it's like, I can't. I swear to God, I don't think I'm crazy. Although I could be. I could be very crazy. So this morning, I made the I. I sort of really pulled the I. I broke the glass on this in case of emergency, and I pulled the lever that is email David Sedaris directly, who I don't really know. Like, I've interviewed him. We've interacted online a couple of times. We both do commentaries for CBS Sunday Morning, which I tried to leverage a little bit. I said my email was like, hey, it's Luke Burbank from Public Radio Fellow, CBS Sunday Morning opinion haver. My hope was that that would, I don't know, cause him to give me some sort of standing in his mind. And then I basically just asked, like, I, you know, saw the essay about Portland, but I think I'm going crazy. But I feel like I heard you talk about this a couple of years ago. I didn't ask him out. Right. When did the dog bite happen? Because the other thing I'm trying to do with my email is I don't much like, yeah, I didn't want it to seem like I was trying to be accusatory or Gotcha. Like, I'm not trying to prove that his essay is invalid because he was bitten by a dog three years ago, but is only writing about it now. But for my own mental well being, I need to know when the dog bite occurred and it's not. In the essay. He doesn't say. Last month, while I was walking on the streets of Portland, he talks about the fact that he visits Portland about once a year. Usually it's always for work. You know, he's doing a book reading. He always stays in the same hotel right by his theater, et cetera, et cetera. But what he doesn't clarify is which yearly trip did the dog bite occur in?

[Andrew Walsh]

I feel silly even talking about this a little bit because I haven't read the original piece, but in the sort of recap, little bit of criticism. And by the way, I want to make something. Well, I'll make something clear here. Boy, what a strong way to say something that is not strong. But generally speaking, like, I think it's. This is one of those things where it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I don't think you have to, like, be angry at David Ferris for being out of touch, but you can just disagree. And it's sort of. I don't have to hear you say this wrong about. And I haven't read his piece. Maybe if I read it, I'd be all triggered and going after him. But I just sort of seems like one of those things where. And also, Willamette, we can can write a piece saying, hey, this doesn't represent our city and we love our city. And also you got some facts wrong about the drug laws here. Like, that's fine too. You know what I mean? And again, I haven't read his piece, but it just sort of seems like one of those things where you can sort of disagree. And also the piece I read, and I think this was smart having again, not read the original. The writer that I was reading even said it's hard to say if this was kind of on the level or if he's doing that thing where he's exaggerating his complaints as a reflection of who he is. Like, that's my memory of him too. Like, are we taking him more literally now if we want to be offended by something as opposed to back in the day, the joke was always on the narrator, who was basically a version of Sedaris, right? It was somebody freaking out about something. But his freakouts were over the top almost in a Seinfeldian way. I mean, it's a classic thing. And I liked the fact that this writer was writing from that position, too. It's like, it's unclear how much he's exaggerating for humor or whatever. So all of that is to say in this piece that I, I read, it did mention that he was leaving a live event. And I thought for a moment you were going to say you thought this happened after he was a guest on Livewire or something like that, which would have been really amazing.

[Luke Burbank]

Would that we could get Sedaris on Livewire. That'd be a big.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, he's never been on. I'm actually surprised by that, though.

[Luke Burbank]

No, he's been on tbtl.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, that, yeah, way back in the day. Right.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. That's the only time I've ever interviewed him.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, okay. I thought he, I, for some reason, I thought maybe for one of those book festivals or something like that. But no, that would be a pretty.

[Luke Burbank]

That'D be a pretty big, pretty big get for us. But you got to be.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I'm with you. That you don't know and he doesn't. You have to be very careful because if he is receiving some slings and arrows or criticism for this one, you don't want to seem like you're saying, wait a second, buddy, I thought, blah, blah, blah.

[Luke Burbank]

Here's what I wrote. Subject line. Very quick question about dog bite timeline. Hi, David, Luke Burbank here, public radio person and fellow CBS Sunday MORNING opinion haver. I was hoping you could clarify something that's driving me crazy. Obviously, your dog bite essay was just published, but I have this weird memory of hearing you discuss it a while ago somewhere. Did this bite just happen or was it a few years back? Again, this couldn't be less important other than I feel like I'm losing my mind and would like to hang onto it for at least a few more years.

[Andrew Walsh]

Appreciatively, Luke, I think that's.

[Luke Burbank]

Does that convey that I. Does that convey that this is a good faith question. This is not an attempt to undermine the veracity.

[Andrew Walsh]

So long as he gets through that subject line. If he's getting a bunch of subject lines that are kind of like the word timeline seems a little officious. So that's the one thing. Maybe just like quick, like, maybe my subject line would have been like, quick unimportant question about. Yeah, I should have put his essay or something like that.

[Luke Burbank]

Like something that should have put unimportant in the. Yeah. Well, I was going to say hi from Luke Burbank, but then I was like, he doesn't know what a Luke Burbank is and it might just go into his spam or he might just be like I was trying to. And you're right, I should have put dog bite. Timeline does sound like I'm trying to get to the bottom of something. Like I'm trying to like fact check something more like just. Which I'm not. I'm just personally curious about it. So I don't, I don't know. We. We shall see. But if anybody out there in the hive mind can help me solve this, I'm. By the way, I would put it at less than 30% that David Sedaris emails me back about this. But if somebody out there who's hearing this, if anyone has any intel, if anyone can confirm what I'm talking about or has a memory of what I'm having a vague memory of, I would appreciate it because it's also possible that I invented this. Like it's pot. I heard, maybe I heard someone else talking about getting bitten by a dog or what? I don't, I don't know. I just feel, I mean, I could also, if I wanted to take it to another level, I'm actually, I'm more friendly with Amy Sedaris than I am with David Sedaris. I could also ask Amy Sedaris.

[Andrew Walsh]

That would get weird, I think.

[Luke Burbank]

When was your brother bitten by a dog?

[Andrew Walsh]

You can write to her. A very serious question about your brothers attack on Portland.

[Luke Burbank]

Life or death Question related to the future of my fine city, marked urgent.

[Andrew Walsh]

Can you still do that to email us? I want to say though it also would not. I'm actually thinking there's a good chance that you're right about this. I could see the New Yorker in him because he writes somewhat. It used to be more frequent. I don't really follow him and I don't think we get the New Yorker anymore. So I don't know to what frequency he writes essays for them. But I could see him just being like, oh yeah, we should do another essay and kind of going through his notes, maybe I kind of scratch, you know, he's famously carries a notepad around all the time. I could sort of see this being like something that he was writing, you know, or had written a while back but it wasn't complete and saying, oh, I'll dust this thing off and put it in there because it's not like you know, no longer relevant. My question is, is there anything in the article that like says I was walking through Portland late last night when a sudden I was walking through Portland? No, you don't. I Got a dog.

[Luke Burbank]

It felt like shit.

[Andrew Walsh]

It was a doggy bit. But in other words, like, does he timestamp it at all in the recent piece?

[Luke Burbank]

Not that I was able to. That was my first thing, was I went to read the essay to see if he timestamped it, and he did not.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, see, I mean, that's totally reasonable, right? Like a little essay that's quasi Evergreen, you know?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And. And. And I, like, I'm. I'm glad to hear you say, Andrew, exactly what I've been thinking, not just about this essay, but about a lot of stuff. And I don't want to turn this into, I don't know, a larger discussion about, I don't know, culture and how we respond to things. But I feel like the older I'm getting, the more I'm going in the direction of what you described, which was like, okay, listen, I am such a fan of the writing of David Sedaris. It's produced much joy for me over my lifetime. I also think that he 100% nailed it in this essay with everything. But it also doesn't mean that I'm in my own mind canceling David Sedaris. For me, like, I will no longer read his stuff. It's just like, there's a couple things in there. I was like, ah, I don't know if that's the most generous interpretation of this, but whatever. That's how he feels. And then also, the Willamette Wheat can write up their thing and say what they don't agree with in the essay and, like, we can all kind of move forward with our lives.

[Andrew Walsh]

You said. You said the same thing about Cosby. I mean, you've been very consistent on this. You said the same thing about.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly. Even when that was an unpopular opinion, I said that now that it's. Now that it's cycled back into being the. I'm trying to read.

[Andrew Walsh]

Can you see? I'm showing you. I'm getting a call coming into my phone right now. You probably can't read it.

[Luke Burbank]

It's Sweetwater.

[Andrew Walsh]

They send me more candy sound. Yes. These are the people that I got my microphone arm from, and now they're calling me. Remember, they put some candy. I think I was telling you, let.

[Luke Burbank]

It go to voicemail. I bet you it is calling you to ask you how you like your microphone stand experience.

[Andrew Walsh]

How about that?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, that's a little aggressive. I don't like a flat phone call.

[Andrew Walsh]

I feel seen. I feel like. I mean, because I really like my new microphone arm.

[Luke Burbank]

And, you know, it was about an email, though.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, you feel like a call.

[Luke Burbank]

I've said this a lot.

[Andrew Walsh]

Your microphone arm. Timeline. And I was like, I don't know.

[Luke Burbank]

Extremely important question about your microphone arm. I watched When Harry Met Sally last night, Andrew, because I'm on a mission to literally watch every Rob Reiner film ever made.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, right.

[Luke Burbank]

And it was. It was.

[Andrew Walsh]

It was.

[Luke Burbank]

It was good. I think of the. So now I've watched Princess Bride, Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, and When Harry Met Sally.

[Andrew Walsh]

You skipped his second one, which is one you've never seen before. We got a note from a listener, says it's pretty good. You remember what his second movie is? I'm looking up Rob Reiner filmography for the third time in second movie.

[Luke Burbank]

Was that the sure Thing with John Cusack?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. Now, you've never seen that, right?

[Luke Burbank]

I haven't seen that one. So, I mean, I guess I could at some point. I feel like there are enough Rob Reiner movies that I want to indulge in that I do know that it'll take me a while to get to that one, but. Because probably Misery should be on the list too. But although I have to say the scene, the famous scene with the sledgehammer is so upsetting and misery that it's just like. Like it almost was a disincentive, to use one of our favorite words. It's almost a disincentive for me to tune into that movie.

[Andrew Walsh]

Do you know that? But it happens differently in another very grotesque way. But that actually doesn't happen in the book. Yeah, they do something. She does something else to hobble him in the book. And it is. I don't know if it's worse necessarily, but it's graphic. And I guess I won't tell you what it is here, but it's really, really graphic. And the details of it are so specific and so graphic. And I was such a messed up kid that in some high school class, I think a speed like a public speaking class, we had to choose a piece of like literature or a famous speech or something and read that and I read that scene. That is a really weird thing for me to do.

[Luke Burbank]

You read it in front of the class?

[Andrew Walsh]

I read it in front of the class. And again, it's not the thing where she. She doesn't break his.

[Luke Burbank]

Was okay with that?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think it was. I think it was a layperson teacher. But like, yeah, I'm trying to think if they.

[Luke Burbank]

So all your teachers were not like.

[Andrew Walsh]

Jesuit brothers or Whatever. Some were. I had a couple of priests. I had Brother Giao, who's now Father Guiao, who's now the president of the school actually. But he was like kind of. Kind of fresh out of. I don't know if it was seminary or what at the time. So we had a mix. But I think way more teachers were laypeople than men of the cloth.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I did not read the book, but I did see the movie and I found the movie totally entertaining. There is one incredibly gruesome scene, and it's almost like. Like it makes me not want to put the movie on because I don't want to have to see the gruesome scene. I could just close my eyes and whatever. I'll still hear James Caan's discomfort, let's just call it. But anyway, all that is to say I watched When Harry Met Sally last night. I would say of the movies that I've watched, Princess Bride is still top. It's like top shelf, elite level of holding up. And maybe that's because it's kind of ahistoric in a way. You know what I mean? The thing about When Harry Met Sally is that it is set very much in early 1990s New York. And even though it is really good and I really, really loved it, and I did cry at the end a little bit, and that's okay, I can admit to that. It has a few more little. I wouldn't even call. There's nothing in there that is odd, like from a kind of homophobic or kind of racist standpoint or the kind of thing that just was casually in so many movies that we would have watched from that era that I wasn't even clocking at the time. It doesn't have any of that stuff to its credit that I noticed. It's just. There's a couple of little. Just moments here or there that I was like, oh, that's. That feels of a moment, that feels of a time or something. But overall still, like, really, really holds up and just renewed my crush on Meg Ryan. What I realized was that era. So that would have been. I think that movie came out in 92. So I would have been like a sophomore in high school. I don't know if I watched it when it came out, but I know that when I had my first really serious girlfriend, like my first falling very hard in love, Jeanette. We watched When Harry Met Sally and I somehow felt like it was the story of our life. Even though it's the story of two people in New York City. Who are much older than us and have careers. And somehow it felt representative of us. And somehow also I loved her. I loved Meg Ryan. I thought that Meg Ryan just was the most adorable thing that's. That had ever existed. And I went back to thinking that watching it last night, just an absolutely adorable person.

[Andrew Walsh]

I. I also caught a crush watching a movie last night. I felt, and I'm sure, like, everybody of my generation fell for Myrna Loy.

[Luke Burbank]

Who played Myrna Loy?

[Andrew Walsh]

Myrna Loyd. You know, Myrna Loy? You're just.

[Luke Burbank]

I know the name. I do. You really like in black and white films, right?

[Andrew Walsh]

That's funny. I thought you were just joking because I'd never heard that name before. Oh, yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Wasn't she in the Thin Man?

[Andrew Walsh]

That's exactly what I watched last night. Have you seen the Thin Man? Y. I can't believe how good that movie was. I was flipping and like, I've been watching some older movies and kind of, you know, that's a Dashiell Hammett movie. The film is not really film noir. It's more of a romp. And I kind of didn't realize that because I knew that the book was like a noir kind of private eye thing because it was dash.

[Luke Burbank]

It's got the little Jack Russell terrier.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, yeah. And so I thought I was watching the little. I thought I was going to be watching something that was a little bit more hard boiled, and Veeves was watching it with me. And it's not Hard Boiled, but I guess it's a Nick and Nora story. And I didn't realize that these were Hammett, like, kind of regulars. And so instead of being like the private eye who's like, you know, alone and hard boiled and somebody comes in on her getaway sticks, it's more about this married couple who are drunk all the time and so in love with each other and always teasing each other and in the most loving way. And I fell in love with her. I fell in love with them. Their chemistry is so good as William Powell and Myrna Loy playing them. And it's so great. And at one point, he's leaving on a dangerous, kind of. Near the end of the movie, he's leaving on some sort of a dangerous, let's say, mission or something. And he, you know, they still can't. Their love is kind of always a ball breaking kind of love. And she says, I don't love you. I've just gotten used to you. And she doesn't want him to go on this it's such a good movie. I was really, I was really surprised. Then the end is more like a kind of closed door mystery, kind of big reveal. He gathers all the suspects around a table and does that almost like Knives out kind of thing. Which is funny because I tried to watch the latest Knives out the night before and I watched two hours of it and then was like, I gave up on it. I found it a little bit obnoxious by the end. But to watch two hours of a mystery movie and then give up right at the big reveal, I was like, maybe it speaks to me. But I also sort of spoke to Knives out, generally speaking. But I kept watching this, which was like a tight 90 minutes and such a great story and so much good chemistry between the characters. And it's almost 100 years old. I was blown away at how good it was.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, some of those movies, those like, you know, sort of 1930s and I guess 40s era black and white movies, the writing is so sharp. Like for particularly those, those kinds of movies. Like there's some great like, you know, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn versions, Adam's rib and things like that where it's just like, like the, it's almost like 30 Rock. It's like the jokes per minute and the just, just the, just the droll little one liners and asides and things. It's just like, it's endlessly charming to me. I love it. They're so much better than a lot of the stuff they make today. But. But yeah, that makes me want to go back and, and revisit some of those. I'm looking up a list now from Cinemablend of what is described as some of the, the best. Although now this is turns out, CinemaBlend.com Andrew is an extremely kludgy website. I just had this list and now it just went away. Great black and white comedies. It was of course like one of their first ones they list is Clerks because it was shot in black and white. I'm like, get the memo.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hey, while you do that, let's do something else here. Do you want to listen to the Sweetwater voicemail? I think we know what it is, but should we just play it?

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, why not?

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm kind of curious.

[Luke Burbank]

I know you are. You can't do the show without hearing it giving you a call. I am calling today to follow up with you here. We received new order from you, looks like a few weeks ago for a KM desktop or desk arm. So we wanted to just follow up to say thank you for the order.

[Andrew Walsh]

And to make sure that that has.

[Luke Burbank]

Been delivered for you and hopefully there's no issues there. If you do have any issues or questions, we do cover that under a.

[Andrew Walsh]

Free two year Warran water.

[Luke Burbank]

And then you also get unlimited product and tech support. You need to utilize any of that. Do give me a call. I'm your point of.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I see. So it's a little bit of an upsell.

[Luke Burbank]

Right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

That's interesting though because yeah, there I was like, man, this is a high touch. This is some white glove service. Just over a mic arm.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Then there's the. We'd love to tell you more about.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sure.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm still surprised that, that I don't know how much your mic arm was. I guess I could check the TBTB account but like I'm surprised that they don't internally have a, like a floor for what generates the call out as far as, you know, like in other.

[Andrew Walsh]

Words, if they wasn't a piece of electronics. Right. It wasn't a microphone, it wasn't an audio board, it was a, an arm.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. And it wasn't also, I assume it wasn't $500. Like, I just wonder like, like I wonder how it, like what's the minimum thing I could buy where I would get that call? What if I bought a bunch of guitar picks when I get a call? You know, like it seems like that's, that's taking some time out of that person's day to call about a relatively inexpensive item to see if they can upsell you to the warranty on it. Kind of interesting.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. I mean it's not a. People could look it up. You just heard what the mic arm was. It was a couple hundred bucks, I'll be honest with you. So, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't cheap. It's big, a, A professional grade piece of equipment. And so, you know, I understand, like, yeah, maybe it would be, I don't know, $100. What if you bought a. What if you bought $200 worth of guitar picks, then can you buy a warranty?

[Luke Burbank]

I wonder if that's in its own category because there's literally just a piece of plastic. So they would know that there's no chance of selling me on the warranty. But I wonder also if we're going to see more of that. I told you that the heating company, the Boulder company had called me because I had complained to them. I wonder if some of these companies are also now to try to break through all the noise in our. Inbox of email reach out and text reach out. I wonder if now there's a certain move towards trying to have a human call you, because that's something you're more likely to respond to.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's almost like when your sports team scores way too many runs or points in one game and you're like, save it. Let's spread it out a little bit. It's like, how about instead of having a human call me from Sweetwater on something I don't need a reply on, you know, because it's a pretty standard piece of equipment, how about we send some of these call center operators over to Verizon or Xfinity or some of the more frustrating companies where you literally. Or the bank that put me on hold for 45. I was so frustrated. This is. I'll tell this very quickly, but there is just, like, on one of my several, like, kind of bank of America accounts, I noticed they were doing this thing where they round up every one of my payments made with my debit card. They kind of round the change up, and then they take that money. Let's say it's like between 90 and 50 cents each purchase. They take that money, and they automatically move it over to a savings account for me. And they're like, this is a good way to get you to save, basically, with just, like, pennies on the dollar. And that's fine. They're not taking my money, but I didn't ask them to do that. And I have my own system for keeping track of things. I have my own system for saving, and I know that I didn't opt into that. And so I'm on their website and I go to opt out. Like, they want you to do everything online, but there must be some advantage for the banks to automatically opt you into this and make it incredibly difficult to opt out. Because every. I had to click on three different links that said, how to opt out of this, how to opt out. And eventually the last one just said, you must call our customer service center in order to opt out of this. I'm like, why would you. And then I was on hold, and I have the record on my phone here. I. I think 40 minutes. I think I was holding hold for 40 minutes before I could reach an operator, who then just said, okay, yeah, I'll take care of that for you. And, you know, she was helpful. And I was off the phone with her in probably about five or ten minutes or less. But I just like, there's something. And now I'm like, got conspiracy theories going on about this. Why would the bank that doesn't want me to call them for shit, you know what I mean? There could be like a masked burglar in here holding two bags with dollar signs on them and saying, I just took out of your BOA account and there's no number for me to call. The bank would just say, well, why don't you just go online and hit stop payment on those two bags of money or something. Why is the bank so insistent upon not making it possible for me to opt out of a very simple plan that just moves my money around a little bit? And there's something. There's some advantage for the bank for us to all be automatically enrolled in this.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, that's. I'm trying to think. I wonder what their angle is on that. That. Because it doesn't. My first thought is always, well, if that allows them somehow more liquidity with your money in terms of the ways that they are, like, basically like loaning your money out to other people. I wonder if that category is different somehow. If there's some sort of a FDIC rule. Like, yeah, why are they. Why is that an opt out thing? Why do they care if it's rounding up for you? There has to be an advantage for them. And I don't know what it is, but I know it's an advantage for them.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, because just to be clear, it's not their money. And I'm not handing over my money to them. It's just them taking a little extra of my money and moving it over from a checking over to a savings each time. Genevieve's theory was along the lines of yours, which is, well, once it's in a savings account, then they can kind of, you know, that's what they do. She even quoted your favorite quote from It's a Wonderful Life. You should have heard her Jimmy Stewart impression.

[Luke Burbank]

That was wonderful.

[Andrew Walsh]

It lasted about a half a second before it all fell apart. It was so.

[Luke Burbank]

But anyway, your money's not here. It's in Joe's house.

[Andrew Walsh]

Literally.

[Luke Burbank]

Mine went three seconds, but yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

So she's like, maybe that's it. Like, it's just like when you just take all those pennies, all those pennies across every single account that bank of America has, then they're moving that over to savings, and then they can invest that, you know?

[Luke Burbank]

Right. Like, they maybe can't do that with your checking because you're checking. You might need it more quickly. But there's again, there's probably some federal rule, at least for now, about. About what they can do with what pot of your money. And somehow it's better if it's in that pot for them.

[Andrew Walsh]

But it's real galling that there's. You did not sign up for this, but the only way to sign out is by calling us. And we're not even going to get you to a live human being for 40 minutes. Like, that's kind of bullshit.

[Luke Burbank]

And oftentimes if you go into the bank and you're asking about something like that, that they have to, at the bank, call the number. Yes, I've had that experience before. I've been like sitting with a personal banker and like the way that the personal banker can fix my issue is by calling the same number I was just on hold with for a day and a half.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I had a slightly separate, very similar. But I had to go into the bank to fix something. God knows what it was. And I think I told you about this. And he had a special number, but basically, like he had a number that wasn't on the website, but basically he just pushed his phone across the desk and laughed about it with me too. He's like, I know it's crazy. You gotta come in here and we just gotta call the bank. But we have a number that kind of gets through some of the phone tree stuff. And he just sat there and looked at me while I was talking to his colleague in another city somewhere. Thank you, Ben baby.

[Luke Burbank]

Speaking of high finance, right now it's time to thank some of our donors. These folks are donating to TBTL and it is. It's how this show can exist. 100% listener supported podcast right here, right now, supported by folks like Colin Richard, who's in University City, Missouri.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thank you, Colin.

[Luke Burbank]

I wonder what university is in University City City.

[Andrew Walsh]

Have we done Missouri?

[Luke Burbank]

Have we done this before?

[Andrew Walsh]

I feel like it. Or maybe we did that for another area. Well, universe.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, yeah, we were talking about University Place, which is down in. Near Tacoma.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, maybe that's what I'm thinking of. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. But I was just wondering because if you name your city. University City. Oh my God, they do have a city. Wait, city of University City.

[Andrew Walsh]

City of University City, Missouri.

[Luke Burbank]

That's the logo for. For University City, Missouri. The city of University City. Let's see, I'm trying to find out, is this where Teka is based? I'm not sure.

[Andrew Walsh]

I didn't know what you were talking about for a second here. Let's see.

[Luke Burbank]

We'll never know. But yeah, what we know about University City, Missouri is Colin Is there. And we appreciate. Appreciate it, Colin. Thank you so much. Thanks also to Trisha Shearer of Bellingham, Washington. The Bay City, the city of subdued. I always get this wrong. Subdued expectations. No, not subdued expectations.

[Andrew Walsh]

Subdued excitement. I think so. And also home to Western University.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes, Western Washington. Could be. It used to be known as University City, Washington.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's right.

[Luke Burbank]

Then they went with Bellingham, thanks to Nicole Hampton, who's in Portland, Oregon.

[Andrew Walsh]

Don't believe what David.

[Luke Burbank]

David Sedaris says about your town, Nicole.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, that scab. That.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, my God. He's so canceled with me. Thanks, Nicole. Thanks, Rick Manson of Seattle, Washington.

[Andrew Walsh]

Hey, hey. Our dogs don't bite, Seattle. Our dogs don't bite.

[Luke Burbank]

That's right, Seattle. No dog bites. Since it's been 12 days since a dog has bitten a noted essayist here in Seattle.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think I ever talked about this on the show, but I did this. I set something up just to make you and Genevieve laugh independently when I had that scare when Bingo accidentally dipped his tail into a candle on the show and I freaked out because he singed the hair on his. On his tail. I put together a. I took a piece of paper and I wrote, it's been blank days since we've set a cat on fire. And then I put a sticky note with one on it and hung it up and took a photo with Bingo next to it. I sent it to you and Veeves. That was. That was an exclusive. That was exclusive just for you and Veeves.

[Luke Burbank]

Love it. I like. We have some now we're using it on the show, but it's nice. We have some special content that doesn't have to be monetized. Oh, yeah. Although now it's been in a roundabout way, I guess you could say. Monetized. Monetized. For Christina Strand, who's in Everett, Washington.

[Andrew Walsh]

Thank you, Christina. Your donations went towards that muddled story I just told. Yep.

[Luke Burbank]

And then Elaine Olson is in Buckley, Washington. I think about Tricia and Rick and Christina and Elaine, all in the state of Washington, Andrew. And I wonder, maybe all as worried as I am about this Seahawk Tonight. Worried is the wrong term for it, I guess you could say anxious, like. It's not even that. It's not even that I necessarily think it's going to go terribly. You know me, I'm sort of a kind of an eternal optimist with these things. It's more that I. I am just like, I know that I'm going to have a really strong emotional reaction one way or the other. Tonight I'm either going to feel real good by about 8:30pm or real bad. And there's something about just going into that scenario, just knowing I'm either going to be on cloud nine or I'm going to be a little bummed.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think this is necessary, but just we had a very rare weird Internet hiccup right when you said Seahawks game. So some listeners might not know that you're talking about the Seahawks game. I think from context and if you listen to the show at all, most people would know that that's what you said. But I wanted to clarify because we lost you for literally that like half second. But yeah, I was thinking about the game. First of all, I'm excited because I don't get to watch a lot of these games if they happen for you. So I get to watch the game and I'm with you. Like, I saw that some people were talking about maybe gathering. Sometimes I change my mind about this stuff when it gets closer to game time. But like, I'm thinking I don't want to gather for this one. This one feels like, hey, if I only get to watch a couple of games and this one is huge for us, it's a very, very important game we don't have to get into. Why? For people who don't know, but it's just a big, important near the end of the season game for us and it's on Thursday and Genevieve got us that antenna, so I should be able to watch it with. Now, it's interesting because Thursday Night Football has been taken over by Amazon prime, but I'm pretty sure the local games are still broadcast over the air.

[Luke Burbank]

Interesting. I hadn't thought about that in you as a, as a Prime conscientious objector.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, we ditched our Prime. Ironically, this time last year it was Thursday Night Football were the only games we had easy access to, but we ditched Prime.

[Luke Burbank]

Now, would that mean. Can I ask quickly? Because I know that you know how to get the football games through extra legal means, but those are games that at some level are being broadcast over the air to some degree. How does that affect like something that's only digital, like Amazon Prime? Is that easier or harder to harvest through the dark web?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think any difference, to be honest with you. I don't know because I had Amazon prime for so long and it's been a while since I cared to look up a Thursday night game. I don't know, but it shouldn't make a difference. You just go to this site, and it's kind of like, here's a bunch of mirrors, which is like, you know, basically the same site repeated in different places. So anyway, I don't know, but I think for this one, I'll probably. As long as that antenna works. It is funny. It's charming to be somewhat at the mercy of the atmosphere, like, literally the atmospheric conditions, to know how well you're gonna be able to watch this game, you know, like, this antenna. Like, I did have some issues.

[Luke Burbank]

Cabin in New Hampshire. You've got just hoping the wind doesn't blow too hard and move your antenna around.

[Andrew Walsh]

The difference is it is a digital antenna, so it's not. And, you know, everything is broadcast digitally now, even over the air, so you're not going to get, like, fuzzy white snow that you and I grew up with on the TV set, and you adjust it a little bit and gets a little bit more clear. It really is a little bit all or nothing. It'll, like, glitch out, you know, just digital glitches. It'll freeze or whatever, but then you can adjust the antenna, and then it'll come in better. But it really does depend on, like, well, what's the weather doing? How's my knee feel? So, anyway. But I am. I am back to what I was blabbing about before. I do think this is one where, as of right now, I think I want to be, like, kind of here at home, locked in, probably by myself. I think Genevieve has something that she has to do for work or something around that time. And so I could see myself sort of just, like, pacing in front of the TV and actually getting to listen to the commentators and everything, which is. You don't get to do if you're, like, at the Eagles or something.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. I think that's what I've landed on, too, is I'm just gonna watch up here and do my pacing and have the thing on full volume and just kind of, you know.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Experience it solo, which is a little bit unfun. But it's like, the thing is, I don't have a crew in Portland who, you know, Becca doesn't. Didn't grow up with the Seahawks. Her brothers and family don't really care that much. Like, I mean, you know what I mean? It's like, I don't. It's not. If I was in Seattle and it was happening at the Eagles, I might be a little more tempted to be around people, but. But I think, you know, and also, the game could go sideways, and so I think I'd rather not make a long voyage somewhere and kind of change the whole trajectory of my night for a game that might leave me feeling a little bummed. Anyway, I'd like to do my normal Thursday night thing and hope that it's just buoyed by good Seahawk ness, but if not, I'm not like, oh, now I get to drive 45 minutes home.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, right. Depressed. Yeah. Yeah, I could definitely see that. And also, like, having to, like, kind of moderate your mood. I do think that I'm a little bit. It's, you know, know, it's not like the baseball playoffs. I don't think I'm going to be as emotionally wrapped up in this because of my personal relationship with football these days. Not that I'm not rooting for them, but even a lost here won't feel as probably like as much of a deep cut to me as it would for you. She's been hanging on every play.

[Luke Burbank]

And the thing is not to get too, like, football with it, but the thing is, the Seahawks are going to be going to the playoffs, presumably, one way or the other. It would be like, this is almost really purely an ego thing for me, which is I would like for all of the announcer people to have to say that the Seahawks are the best team in football, which, if they beat the Rams, particularly if they beat them handily, that would start to become the conversation. Or they'd start to be seen as, like, in the top two of teams. And I just like that for some reason, like. But if they don't win, they'll still get into the playoffs. They'll have to go play on the road. Who knows? I know, don't. I don't. I don't think that they are going to win the super bowl this year, but. So in other words, if they go two rounds or they go one round or whatever, it's, It's. It's all kind of mixed up into the same thing for me. But there is something. Yeah, Tonight it would be fun if they won because then you get to just kind of like, enjoy a lot because they're not playing this weekend. So you get to enjoy a whole weekend of all of the punditry around. Like, well, you've got to take the Seahawks seriously now.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Right. Sam Darnold has, for those who don't know, the Seahawks have this guy named Sam Darnold as their quarterback. And the thing on him is he was kind of considered to be a bust of a quarterback when he came out of usc, but then he Played real well last year for the Minnesota Vikings. And then at the very end of the season in the playoffs, the highly touted Minnesota Vikings played the, at the time, very lowly Los Angeles Rams. They were not thought to be a good team in the Rams just shut him down. And then in the first game of this season when we played the Rams again, they shut this guy, Sam Darnold down. So there's this kind of almost like cinematic kind of thing which is like, is there a particular coach or team that just owns our guy, even though he's putting up all these amazing statistics against everybody else in the league? Is it possible that you can just have one sort of bete noire, just one like nemesis who has your number? And that's sort of the narrative right now. And so it's like if he plays bad tonight, that confirms the idea that one coach has him figured out. But if he does well tonight, it means that narrative is out the window.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't, I'm not in the prediction business as you know, especially on this, a topic that I'm not super well read up on. But I do think I. If we're just talking about this now and why the hell not? Yeah, a lot of people are concerned.

[Luke Burbank]

About approaching the Badlands.

[Andrew Walsh]

The Seahawks performance last week, they did win, but did they win without any touchdowns? I know they got sick. They got six field goals and ended up winning at the very last minute with a long field goal. And so people are like, man, they were playing a 44 year old quarterback who just came off the couch. Like if that's how they play this team, then they're going to be just Lambs before the slaughter in front of the Rams. But I don't see it. Ironically, aren't Rams kind of a. Is a Ram, like a, uh, a.

[Luke Burbank]

Ram could be brought to the slide.

[Andrew Walsh]

So that's interesting. But anyway, anyway, so Lambs before the Lambs, the tougher Lambs. But anyway, I just don't see it that way and I think you would agree with me. I just think that we're not going to see the same kind of play from the Seahawks. I'm, you know, predicting another, you know, probably tough first half. They have been slow to sort of wake up. But I don't think that last week's game, I don't, I just don't think there's a lot of takeaways from last week's game that you can apply to this week's game. As far as like the soft offense.

[Luke Burbank]

I, if I'm taking the absolutely most generous interpretation of the Seahawks game against the Colts, it's that the Seahawks did not want to reveal any of their plays, if possible, to the Rams. They didn't want to give the Rams any really particularly usable footage from Sunday.

[Andrew Walsh]

Interesting.

[Luke Burbank]

They knew that the only way they were going to lose is if they turned the ball over. And so they were like, we don't care if this is an ugly game where we just grind it out. We just do just enough to win the game. We are going to make Philip Rivers beat us by having a phenomenal game. We're going to let him have little short throws. We're not going to let him chuck one down the field, and we're not going to try anything particularly challenging for our team that would either risk injury or give the Rams some intel on us. We're just going to. We're basically going to do what we need to do to win this game. And it ended up being a little closer than any of us wanted. It should not have come down to a final field goal, but. But the generous interpretation was that the Seahawks did not give anything away and they didn't get anyone hurt and they got a W. And that's all you really want from a game like that. And now they're going to like, just. Absolutely. I don't know, they're going to open up their bag of tricks against the Rams. That's what I'm hoping is what happened. There's also the other narrative, which is the Seahawks offense is really stalling out of late and that's not a good thing. Going up against. Against the most explosive offense in the football.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, we'll see. I am looking forward to it, though. Yeah. So yeah, there probably won't be a newsletter this week is basically fair. That's what it comes. Honestly, though, actually, let's sort of talk about that, because also tomorrow is Friday, which is our TBTL holiday party in the evening. So I was already sort of thinking that, like, I probably won't be able to do all the regular weekly email production this week, but I am looking forward to the TBTL holiday party and it's not too late to join. So if you haven't caught wind of this, it's a Zoom party that we do. We didn't do it the last couple of holidays, but I think we did it maybe a couple of years ago or a few years ago. It's over Zoom. And if you go to tbtl.net right now, you'll see a button at the top of the page. You can sign up and we'll send you a Zoom link. I think we got like, 200 people who are planning on attending so far. If everybody shows up and you have to show up or we keep your money, Absolutely. No, obviously it's free. And we're just going to be gathering. Luke and I will be sipping some eggnog in our respective studios and chatting with you guys. Will. John is going to be there. John's kind of running the show honestly, from a technical standpoint, which we appreciate, and it's just a good time. We'll be chatting it up. And as sort of a focus, we're asking people to come. If you want to chat about your favorite holiday traditions, whether it's a tradition that you take part in now or a tradition that you remember from your childhood, that'll be sort of the question du jour. But also, if you don't feel like talking into the zoom to 200 of your closest friends, you can also just sort of join and watch along with us. So that's what's going on tomorrow night.

[Luke Burbank]

A lot of folks really like what they love about these Zoom meetups is just getting to kind of talk to each other in the, like, not really so much the waiting room, but just kind of the hangout area. Like, it's really fun to get to see everybody on camera and get to, you know, kind of just catch up and like, so it's just a. It's a fun as far, you know, during the pandemic, obviously, like, we all got sold this bill of goods that, like, oh, the virtual is as good as real life. And I think a lot of that, it's not great or it's certainly not, like, doesn't do the same thing as getting together with people, but these things are really fun, actually. And I know people really have a good time. And people do really feel kind of emotionally and socially kind of fed by them. And like you keep saying, Andrew, because I know we've got listeners that have all different levels of comfort around how kind of, you know, what their social battery is and things like that. And what's really fun about this is, like, wherever you are, in terms of, like, how much you like to have people paying attention to you or not, there's a. There's a spot for everyone. You can kind of hang back and just enjoy the whole thing. You can jump on and tell us your holiday tradition. So it's. Everybody is invited, and it should be fun for everyone. So that's.

[Andrew Walsh]

I plan on not opening my mic. I plan on just sitting back and kind of.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I have someone who will fill in for you. I believe my mother will be zooming in.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, gosh. I really don't need to turn on my mike. Good. Good to know.

[Luke Burbank]

I have a feeling it's going to be you and me and John and two people. And then there's going to be 193 people in a. In a breakout room, sitting around my mom in a circle, asking my mom questions about growing up in Philadelphia.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes. I love it.

[Luke Burbank]

There's a right way to rock and.

[Andrew Walsh]

A wrong way to roll. You can't just listen to your song. Just remember that life, life is number one. You can be having so much fun.

[Luke Burbank]

Just remember the day.

[Andrew Walsh]

Life is much fun. You can be nothing but. All right, Luke, are you ready to do some blurs days here?

[Luke Burbank]

I am so ready, man.

[Andrew Walsh]

Do you know how people can get me a blurs day if they want it right on the show?

[Luke Burbank]

Stand outside their home and yell into the wind.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's right. You go outside your home, not my home, but you face in the direction of Seattle.

[Luke Burbank]

That's it. So you've got to figure out what direction is Seattle particularly. I'd say sort of north. Not all the way north Seattle, but the northern part of Seattle. That's where you're aiming for.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. If you're in Seattle, aim north. If you're in shoreline, aim south. Or aim south. So that's basically the. The line there demarcation. And you yell, andrew, I have a blurs day. And then you yell the whole blurs day out and keep them short. I'm worried about your voice, actually.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what? I think there's a better way. Would it be to email you?

[Andrew Walsh]

We could try that. We could try that. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, that would be easier for everybody probably if you just emailed me andrewbtail.net and maybe put blursday in the subject line. Okay, that's actually. It's a good idea, Luke. We should have been doing that all along. Nathan yelled this from outside his house. Insulting Salt Lake City. So was facing what, northwest? Yeah, and he yelled at me. Let's see here. Nathan in Salt Lake City would like to return the favor and wish Jesse or Jessup in Albuquerque a very happy blursday. You're still the funniest person I know. And I can't believe how lucky I am to have you as a best friend. Most importantly, when was the last time you shared? Jesse, I really think you should share.

[Luke Burbank]

Hmm. I wonder what that is a reference to.

[Andrew Walsh]

I Don't know. I love little inside jokes that I don't get between these folks, though. Use us as your communication line. It doesn't matter if we get it. We're not supposed to be listening in anyway. We're like the operators of the old timey days. Ringy dingy.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, exactly. Interesting, right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, and look at this. Oh. Oh, my goodness. Look at this. Look at this. Somebody who goes by the name Phyllis P. Fletch Fletcher, who I believe is on Kow fundraising and as we speak, or was as of 20 minutes ago, says Gus. Now, Gus, of course, is Phyllis's son and our dear friend Gus. Phyllis says Gus, I'm excited you got glasses this year. Now you look just a little bit more like Mom. I've had the day you turned 16 marked on my calendar since you were a baby. I knew you'd get your driver's license and maybe even a job. And sure enough, you've passed your driving test and you're a certified lifeguard. I think those are two different ideas. By amazing. If you passed your driving test and became a certified lifeguard, that would be pretty cool. But I think there may be separate tests. I don't know. I haven't been 16 in a while. But Phyllis says, I'm excited for everything coming your way. Happy blursday. That's amazing. Luke.

[Luke Burbank]

That's awesome.

[Andrew Walsh]

Is 16 years old. He's out there saving lives and driving.

[Luke Burbank]

A car and both pumping me up and, I would say, slightly negging me. Did I tell you about. He DMed me a. He DMed me a photograph the other day from class. Yeah, he was in some kind of a class I talk about on the show. And it was like. I guess I forget what was some. That somehow the teacher in the class was presenting something I had done. I don't know, it was like a TV story I had done or something. I think it was. And he said, hey, they're showing this video of you in my class right now. And I was like, oh, cool. Did you tell him. Did you tell the teacher that, like, you know that person and that, like, you've been on that person's show? He goes, I don't know. I might do it tomorrow.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, wow. No follow up on that either.

[Luke Burbank]

No follow up on that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Happy blurs, I guess. All right. We got this note from Christine that says, I would like to wish my five Grace a happy 17th birthday on her actual birthday. You know what that means, Luke? That's a golden blurs right there. It's been a. I love that little trillo in there. It's been a busy year for her. Navigating the challenging junior year. Advanced math, SAT prep and college choices. She handles it all with grace. That's not a pun. And no one could wish for a more kind, smart and funny daughter. Happy blurs a grace. And good luck with all of that. You'll get through it.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, do well so I don't have.

[Andrew Walsh]

To deal with that stuff anymore. That's a tough, you know, you get through it and it's good. You go through that, that school related stuff and all the prep for college and you're gonna be glad you did it. But also you're gonna be glad when you. When you don't have to deal with it anymore. Rachel in Maine says Happy blurs day to my awesome five Henry Leaf, who turns nine on Monday. He's a smart and quirky kiddo who is great at drawing comics. Oh, I'm jealous. Making inventions. Oh, I'm even more jealous and making his sister and I laugh. I'm super jealous. We love you, Henry. Love mama and Louise.

[Luke Burbank]

Ah, Happy blurs Henry indeed.

[Andrew Walsh]

I love the name Henry.

[Luke Burbank]

By the way.

[Andrew Walsh]

Stephanie in New York City says Happy golden blurs day to Peter who's turning 50. Peter, you love me so much that you leave the light off when I'm still asleep. And even though you accidentally grab that stupid I heart NY T shirt, you still wore it out that day rather than come back in the room and wake me up. I am lucky. Wish you the very happiest 50th birthday. Happy birthday to Peter. Yeah, I was telling you the other day I was feeling self conscious even though I had my headphones on. I was listening to Nirvana on the bus in Seattle and I thought, oh, this is embarrassing. I'm a stereotype. I guess if you're a New Yorker, if you're a Brooklynite and you're walking around wearing an I heart New York, I'm surprised that he even has it that Peter has that shirt.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly. Those shirts have been replaced in all the tourist shops. But just full on the F word. Like F you effing. Do I effing look like I effing care about your effing problems? Like it's so. It's. The discourse has gotten so bad and all those like times squares T shirt shops shops.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm trying to think, what was it? I heart. Let's go. Brandon was a big one.

[Luke Burbank]

There is also that too. Which is like actually just when I was in. When I was in Miami. In Miami Beach. I walked by some, you know, those tourist shops that just have a bunch of souvenirs and hats and T shirts and there was so much MAGA stuff in there. And it again, I. I don't think that the guy who's working at that store or even owns it is in the slightest bit political.

[Andrew Walsh]

Doesn't care.

[Luke Burbank]

It's purely like, what product is moving and how do we make sure we have enough product for anyone's political persuasion? But it's like, oh, man, you don't know. You're making the world a worse place this.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yep. Adam says, I feel weird doing this, but since I don't know any fellow tens IRL. Screw it. Happy Blurs Day. To me, 45 was a blah year, but damn it, I'm going to do my best to make 46.

[Luke Burbank]

Heck yeah.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Heck yeah. Happy blursday, Adam. Hope you have a good one. KJ says this week I will mark a very special milestone Blurs Day. My full retirement age, as blues days go. And I think KJ is writing from overseas, although I don't have the details in front of me here. But KJ says as blurses go, surely this ranks up there with turning 18, 21 or 50 years old. 66 years and 10 months is officially full retirement age for those of us born in 1915. So this is a weird sort of off year. Blurs Day. 66 years and 10 months. And since KJ, you know, I gotta. I gotta hold the line, Luke. I can't let everybody wish a happy Blurs day for every month. But this is a special occasion.

[Luke Burbank]

Loving and always on time.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's right. Happy blurs a K.J. enjoy that retirement.

[Luke Burbank]

Absolutely. Congratulations.

[Andrew Walsh]

If you're retiring. I don't know if KJ is retiring. You have the option. Jeff says, I have the pleasure of wishing a happy blursday to my wonderful wife Jenna. That's my wife, who is basking in that magical moment in time, closer to 40 than her mid-30s. You're aging like a fine Chateau St. Michel, my dear. I couldn't find a better travel companion through this life than you. I love you more.

[Luke Burbank]

There's a great scene in When Harry Met Sally where he goes over. She's having sort of a crisis because the person that she was living with and then they broke up because they didn't. He didn't want to get married. He's now getting married shortly thereafter after. And she's very distraught about it. And she's kind of taking account of her life. And she says to Harry, she's like, and I'm gonna be 40. And he goes, what? She goes. He goes, yeah, but that's in eight years. And she goes, yeah, but it's just there hanging over me. I'm not doing it justice.

[Andrew Walsh]

But I remember that because you kind.

[Luke Burbank]

Of don't know her age exactly as the viewer. And she says, it was such conviction. And then you realize she's 32.

[Andrew Walsh]

32 years old. I've never seen that movie, but I've seen. Seen that scene. Yeah. That's a good.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, man. It's that I honestly just for. You know, we talk about sometimes about the, like, the look of films from a certain era and how it's just comforting. It's like, again, nobody could ever live in any of the apartments that they all live in as, like, you know, one is a writer for New York Magazine. I don't think we even exactly know what Harry does, but they all just have these, like, spectacular 90s era New York City apartments that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, everybody in the movies about New York City. The previous version of that would have been the Woody Allen films. It's like everyone's always just living in some amazing place, but they have a very normal job.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. In fact, that's another argument for me. I don't know why I haven't watched that movie. It's one of those things where it's so beloved and it took. And I've never seen it, and it's just kind of hard for me. It's like my friend who's never seen the Big Lebowski is like, I don't know. I can't go back. I've heard so much about it and everything. Although a good argument for it is, is that it is from that era of New York centric movies. And I don't really watch those anymore, but I, you know, I cut my teeth on them as a young man who loved Woody Allen films in college and. And I missed that feel. And, like, the closest thing I have to that is Moonstruck. I don't know if you like the movie Moonstruck. I love Moonstruck, but that kind of scratches a bit of that itch for me.

[Luke Burbank]

It's a love. I mean, that movie, When Harry Met Sally is a real love letter to New York because they're in Central. I mean, half of the movie is just people walking in Central Park. There's this amazing. I don't want to, like, give it away, but there's a great scene. They're at a Giants football game. Bruno Kirby also Bruno Kirby is just like the best Bruno Kirby and Billy Crystal. And Billy Crystal is sharing his heartbreak of his divorce. He's going through and they're sitting in the stands but also the wave is going on. So the entire scene is punctuated by them also having to do the wave. Every 27 seconds. He's just pouring his heart out about how his now ex wife was cheating on him. And then as soon as he gets to any important emotional point they go.

[Andrew Walsh]

He has to get up and do.

[Luke Burbank]

It and go back to like the conversation. This little stuff like that is really clever.

[Andrew Walsh]

Now I'm thinking about Kitty Dukakis. Trying to think, have I seen Kitty Dukakis in anything other than Moonlighting by Nietzsche.

[Luke Burbank]

Moonstruck.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm sorry, Moonstruck. And also not Kitty. Olympia.

[Luke Burbank]

Olympia. Kitty Dukakis was famous for different reasons.

[Andrew Walsh]

Dog on the car. What? Wait, no, no, no, no. That was RFK Jr. No, well, I, I'm thinking of.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, oh, you're thinking of Mitt.

[Andrew Walsh]

Mitt Romney.

[Luke Burbank]

Whale on. I think whale or bear on the car. I think whale on the car was RFK Jr and then also bear in the park. And then Kitty Dukakis was Michael Dukakis wife. She'd struggled with. She had struggled with alcoholism. And I remember being a kid and seeing the COVID of like People magazine in like, you know, Craigen's Pharmacy. And it was some headline that was like kitty Dukakis struggle with alcohol. And something about her drinking rubbing alcohol. Oh, I think as a kid I didn't know what that. Didn't know the details on that, but I knew that sounded like that wasn't great.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm just astounded by how many things you're saying before about like sort of the jokes per minute of a 30 rock or I can't remember what movie you're talking about. I had so many mistakes per minute there. I call. So it went from Kitty Dukakis. I meant a little bit.

[Luke Burbank]

You had the last name right.

[Andrew Walsh]

Then I got them confused with Now I can't get Dukakis. And the other, the dog on the car. Mitt Romney. I got the Romneys and the Dukakis. I got Olympia and Kitty confused. And I think I threw in an RFK as well. Maybe that one was you. Anyway, that was painful for a lot of people.

[Luke Burbank]

By the way, Mike Dukak is 92 years old.

[Andrew Walsh]

Still kicking.

[Luke Burbank]

Still kicking.

[Andrew Walsh]

Love that man. We are out of music. I refuse to restart it. I'm gonna go for by the way.

[Luke Burbank]

You know who his cousin Is Olympia Dukakis.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, nice.

[Luke Burbank]

So see you were in the neighborhood.

[Andrew Walsh]

That'd be cool. And is Olympia. Olympia is probably not still with us, right?

[Luke Burbank]

Olympia Dukakis has passed away. She passed away in 2021.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

But she had a good run. She was 89.

[Andrew Walsh]

She's great in Moonstruck. Oh, yeah, that was another mistake, too. I also said Moonlighting. Wow. Amazing.

[Luke Burbank]

We all. Andrew, you know what? Language is flexible. As long as we. We knew you were talking about the movie Moonlighting.

[Andrew Walsh]

I do that all the time. Moonstruck. Chris in Brooklyn says I'd like to gift me a self golden blurs day. Hey, Golden Blurs day. Hopefully by the time you're reading this, I'm on a beach in the Florida Keys.

[Luke Burbank]

Whoa.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sipping on a frozen drink. Earbuds in thanks for the best blurse gift of all your podcart and the TBT community. That's amazing. Thank you, Chris. Exactly where.

[Luke Burbank]

As you hear this, Chris, I hope you are exactly where you you thought you were going to be, because let me tell you, as you hear this, it is terrible where we are.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes, that's right.

[Luke Burbank]

It's lousy. I got two heaters going here in this room, and they're not doing the job. So I hope you're on a beach somewhere soaking up the rays and. And enjoying yourself.

[Andrew Walsh]

If you happen to misplace temporarily those earbuds, though, Chris, be prepared to have to show several forms of ID and have them hook up to your phone in front of a mean mugging hotel clerk who is not going to trust you.

[Luke Burbank]

Good Time Hotel in South Beach. That's. That's how they handle it there.

[Andrew Walsh]

All right, our friend Jake has two blurses to share, and this is how we'll round things out. And of course, this is Jake in.

[Luke Burbank]

Chicago, Portland, and Jake in Portland.

[Andrew Walsh]

This is Jake in Portland, husband to Stephanie and father to Augie, the baby.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, that Jake. I'm sorry.

[Andrew Walsh]

I believe we just opened up a gift from Stephanie yesterday on the show. Jake says this is a blurs day for Stephanie for her 28th Blursday. Oh, wow. That's my wife. Stephanie's about to turn 40 in 12 years. It's just out there. It's just out there. You guys are kids. Jake says happy birthday to Stephanie in Portland. You are too cool to be forgotten written in yearbook speak there. Hope your birthday's like a roll of grove toilet paper, long and critically not covered in jalapeno. Jalapeno jalapenos. Jk, you're the best. Let's freaking party. Love you, pretty lady. Happy Blurs A to Stephanie and Jake also. There you go. Happy Blurs day to my five. Augie. Actually, it says August. I don't know, are we the ones who call him Augie or did.

[Luke Burbank]

I hope not. I don't feel like that's a. That's presumptuous of us.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I don't like to do that.

[Luke Burbank]

Shifted him into Augie territory if he's not an Auggie.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I like the name August, too. So if we've started, I think Stephanie maybe has said Augie before. But anyway, Jake says, what's up, little honey man? You are a curious, sweet and kind siggy guy and I love you so much. Your enthusiasm for partying and enjoying life is infectious. Sorry for the belated blurs. Your mom is better at things than I am. So a lot to celebrate down there in Portland and across this great globe of ours. Happy Blurs day, everybody.

[Luke Burbank]

Absolutely happy blurs. Folks, folks. All right, that is going to do it for today's program, but we are going to be right back here tomorrow with some exciting medical news. Andrew during the show I saw a headline in the New York Times that really put some wind in my sails, which I'd like to talk to you about tomorrow. It involves a thing that I already eat too much of that apparently is maybe good for me and my brain health. So we'll and I'm sure we'll have a debrief from how our football watching was and all of that. That so everybody please tune in for that. In the meantime, have a great Thursday. Take care of yourselves. Go Seahawks. And please remember, no mountain too tall.

[Andrew Walsh]

And good luck to all. Power out.