TANcast

Talkin’ Turkey With Tim Babb
Day 23

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. I will be watching tonight’s big episode, but I’ve stopped watching seasons 6 and 7 and I don’t know if I’ll ever pick them up again. I had an epiphany the other night. Fir a while I’ve been saying that I can’t really get into this show because it doesn’t do what I want it to do. And I’ve figured out what I want it to do…be like Quantum Leap.

For some reason (perhaps an old email exchange with a former listener) I was always comparing Doctor Who to Star Trek. It’s really not an apples to apples comparison. To be fair, Quantum Leap isn’t either, but it’s much closer. Both shows are about a guy who travels through time, mucks about with events wherever he goes, and has a partner to help him out.

I’ve discovered THAT’S the broken expectation I have with this show. I keep expecting the Doctor to be like Sam Beckett. He’s not…and in all fairness, he’s not supposed to be. He is the character that was created back in 1963. But that’s just not who I’m looking for in a main character. Sam Beckett is a man of science, but he’s not above giving someone a round house kick if the situation calls for it. The Doctor never really does much of his own fighting. He has other people do it for him…and a lot of them end up dead!

I don’t have hard facts on this, but from my recollection, Sam Beckett never let anyone die. If he did, it was a MAJOR moment in the show and it effected him emotionally as well. People die around Doctor Who all the time and all he says is “I”m sorry. I’m so sorry.” But seconds later he’ll be making jokes. Again, I get it…that’s the character. That’s how he deals with the madness he faces day in and day out, but it’s just not for me.

I think it’s summed up best for me by a line of dialog in the episode “The Family of Blood.” (line starts at 0:36)

For those who can’t watch the video (or in case BBC had YouTube pull it by the time you’re reading this…

Joan Redfern: Answer me this – just one question, that’s all. If the Doctor had never visited us, if he’d never chosen this place… on a whim… would anybody here have died?

[the Doctor does not answer]

That’s where they lose me. First off, why doesn’t it matter that all these humans have been plucked out of history? It never seems to have any effect on the future. What about that butterfly effect people are always on about. If one small change in the past can have a drastic effect on the future, what does it mean if hundreds of people were killed before their time. Didn’t these guys ever see It’s a Wonderful Life? The whole town changed dramatically…and that was just ONE guy!

Secondly, the Doctor doesn’t seem that broken up (in that episode) that his showing up there caused a bunch of people to die. She tells him to go and he walks out without a word of apology or even a look back. If he loves humanity so much, why does he hang around us? It’s like he wen tto the Man of Steel school of saving human lives (boom). I mean they tell you right there in the first episode of “NuWho”

Some Guy: The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes he’s there. He brings a storm in his wake and he has only one constant companion.

Rose Tyler: Who’s that?

Some Guy: Death.

Um, take that somewhere else, buddy! I prefer my time travelers to put right what once went wrong, not kill a bunch of medieval peasant folk.

That said, I’ll be watching tonight because David Tennant is an amazingly charming actor who I enjoy watching immensely. Also, Billie Piper is back and I really fell in like with Rose Tyler those first two seasons. And this Matt Smith guy is not without his charm.

Alons-y!!!

Talkin’ Turkey with Tim Babb
Day 22

I logged on to Facebook yesterday and say this on a friend’s profile:

I accidentally ran over my neighbors dog. To avoid conflict, I put him in my car & threw him out down the road. They will think he ran away & I WON’T GET DIRTY LOOKS EVERY TIME I WALK OUT THE DOOR…DON’T JUDGE ME…I couldn’t find a shovel…plus I threw my back out yesterday soooo I couldn’t dig even if I wanted to..lol

At first I was pretty irritated. But just as I was about to unfrirend her, I remembered something similar that had happened to me on Facebook a few weeks back. So I commented on her status…

Is this one of those things where if I comment on it, you’ll message me a ridiculous status like this that I’m supposed to post?

Sure enough, I got this message a few hours later:

Obviously I played it safe: You fell into the trap. This is a game. The person that likes /comments has to post one of the following to his or her timeline.
1. The fungus on my toenails has spread to my mouth.
2. I need a loan that I’ll never be able to pay back. Any takers? Inbox me if you’re interested.
3. I know the doctor knows what he’s talking about but I don’t remember sharing a needle with anybody.
4. These herpes ain’t no joke.
5. When wearing dirty underwear, does the brown go in the front or the back? I can’t recall?
6. I accidentally ran over my neighbors dog. To avoid conflict, I put him in my car & threw him out down the road. They will think he ran away & I won’t get dirty looks every time I walk outside! Don’t judge me. I couldn’t find a shovel.
7. I just cleaned the toilet with (insert spouse or bf/gf’s name here) toothbrush and put it back in the toothbrush holder! Haha. That’s what happens when you eat the last Pop Tart in this house!
8. I know it’s no shave November but if I participate, there is no way in hell my pants will zip!

Sorry, I got caught too. Good Luck LOL!!

Frist off, I didn’t fall into the trap, I called you on it. Second of all…

Why would people do this? You’re just encouraging me NOT to comment on your statuses anymore..and more than that, to not believe them. This is like anti-social networking. Why not go the full nine yards and make one like this…

Hey, chump! You fell into the trap. This is a game. The person that likes/comments has to post one of the following to his or her timeline.
1. I enjoy wasting people’s time
2. I don’t value my Facebook friends
3. Regret being my friend yet? Just wait…
4. I don’t understand how human interactions should work
5. I have nothing relevant of my own to post
6. Originality is hard
7. I should be ashamed of myself
8. I’m an embarrassment to my family

Yes, I know you’re about to defriend me. I will miss you. Goodbye forever FMK!!

PS-If one of you posts one of those in your feed, I will not fall for it.

…probably

Update: I don’t know and neither do you. Let’s buy some t-shirts…

Apologies to anyone coming here via a well-meaning link you found on Reddit or Facebook or whatever.

Somehow a random “I wonder what ever happened” post by one of our hosts turned into an free-for-all of Sherlock-wannabes using our blog to name random people who were demonstrably NOT the boy in question.

We gave several warnings to stop naming names, then one little asshole had to try to be a big man by talking tough on the internet. Now the whole blog post is gone and comments are closed, leaving Aaron extra free time to go fuck his goat some more, or whatever they do for fun in Hollywood, FL.

Talkin’ Turkey With Tim Babb
Day 20

I may have voiced my dislike of the movie “Man of Steel” a few times around here. I’ve been less vocal about my disappointment in Superman Returns. That flick has some fun moments, but the plot is really weak. It’s a shame that in this modern boom of Superhero movies, that the first and greatest superhero doesn’t have a good movie.

It’s especially a shame because he could have. There was a great Superman movie out there just waiting to be made. I was reminded of this last night when a comedian friend of mine wrote:

I’m going to be lazy and rewatch Man of Steel and see if I still hate it.

To which I replied:

Don’t watch that Batman with superpowers movie. Superman vs. The Elite is on Netflix streaming. A way better movie that still manages to be dark and hopeful and preserve the Superman character.

If you’ve never heard of this movie, check out the trailer…

Go watch that now. Like I said, it’s on Netflix streaming. You may not be able to tell from that trailer, but that is one of the best Superman movies I’ve ever seen. …and that is saying something because it doesn’t have a single bar of the John Williams theme in it and I STILL love it.

Superman vs the Elite is an animated movie that came out in 2012 but it was based on the Superman comic “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?” which came out in 2001. Which is to say BOTH Bryan Singer and Zach Snyder had access to the source material and could have made this as a live action movie. This would have been the way to reintroduce cinematic audiences to Superman. It keeps the soul of the character of Superman while putting him at odds with today’s darker, more cynical world.

This is the kind of movie you can show someone and say, “See? THIS is why Superman is awesome! THIS is why he’s the best!” I couldn’t say that after watching Superman Returns and certainly not Man of Steel.

Up, up and away…

Talkin’ Turkey with Tim Babb
Day 19

So I wasted a bunch of time watching Netflix and Comcast on demand when I should have been writing this blog. So instead of a witty or insightful blog about whatever happens to be on my mind, you get a tiny treasure I found.

Noah had brought up once that it is impossible to find a picture of Patrick Stewart with hair. It’s like he has been bald all his life. Go ahead, try a Google search, you’ll just get photos of him wearing wigs.

Well, I was watching William Shatner’s The Captains: Close Up, a series of interviews with each of the actors who’ve played the captain of a Star Trek series. Specifically, I was watching the one with Patrick Stweart and they were talking about his days growing up and finding his love of acting and….pay dirt!!!

You’re welcome internets. Now subscribe to the podcast!

Talkin’ Turkey with Tim Babb
Day 18

Today is Mickey Mouse’s 85th birthday. So I thought I’d list my top 85 favorite Mickey Mouse cartoons…then I realized that’s way too long of a list, so here’s my top 5 (or “High 5” as we say ’round these parts) Fair warning…you won’t see Steamboat Willie or Sorcerer’s Apprentice on this list. Yes, they’re iconic, but you already know about them and they aren’t personal favorites of mine like these five are. Enjoy…

5) Mickey’s PhilharMagic

If you’ve never seen Mickey’s PhilharMagic, don’t watch that video. Wait until you can see it at the park. I know, it’s technically not a “Mickey Mouse Cartoon” in the traditional sense, since it’s an attraction at Walt Disney World. But I love it. It was amazing. Even though, as I mentioned in a previews Kingdom Comedy, Mickey is barely in it…he’s in it for a bit and it’s got his name on it, so I say it counts.
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Talkin’ Turkey with Tim Babb
Day 17

A text exchange between me and the boys the other day…

I guess you could say I…

…scared the piss out of him

This week the boys talk BatKid, Andy and his wife are evil, Tim sees Thor 2, and Noah gets “doored.”

[CONTENT WARNING] TANcast features mature language and immature hosts but is NOT a representation of the stand up act of Tim Babb. Listener discretion is advised.

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Talkin’ Turkey With Tim Babb
Day 16

Today Make-A-Wish transformed San Francisco into Gotham City for Miles, a 5 year old with Leukemia. His wish was to be a superhero…so he got to be Batkid for a day. It started as a relatively small thing which snowballed into a media frenzy with thousands of volunteers clamoring to help male this little boys wish come true. The city of San Francisco, the San Francisco Giants, even the president of the United States got in the act for this guy.

I know you probably already know all this, but Andy didn’t so I thought I should cover my bases.

But the point of this blog was not to rip on Andy (but this blog needed a laugh in it somewhere). It was to step back and celebrate humanity for a change. Because it wasn’t just Miles wish that came true today. When an entire community makes such an effort to do something so nice for one sick little boy, it makes us all remember that human beings are not as awful as we think. There is good in us..all it took was one sick little boy to find it.

That’s what heroes do. They inspire us to be like them. To achieve the impossible. To never give up. To never stop fighting.

Way to go, Miles! You’re the hero we need right now.

Talkin’ Turkey With Tim Babb
Day 15

My DMV registration is due on Saturday. I’ve had it for a few months and have been putting it off. Well, last night I sat down to finally pay it and noticed I have to get a smog check first. Well crap. Now I have to find a way to do that before Saturday.

Perhaps procrastination is not always the best answer.

UPDATE: I got the car smogged today and finished my registration moments ago. I guess procrastination ain’t all bad.