October 21, 2014

In Episode 2, intermediate Settlers trading strategies, Dick Cheney, Gladiator, Ted Bundy, Hannibal Lecter, Irish cops, and Dave Chappelle are discussed. Also, hear about Ethan’s stand-up experience, and check out the first edition of Stump Chuck, the hot new trivia sensation sweeping the globe.

Ethan tries to redeem the Star Wars prequels.  Good luck with that, buddy!

We discuss the story where Dick Cheney talks about how he thinks of his heart transplant as his “new heart, not someone else’s old heart”.

Gary Numan is the English New Wave recording artist discussed by Chuck and Ethan after the first break who released a series of albums in the late ’70s with themes related to science fiction and artificial intelligence.  The song used in the podcast is called “Metal” and is found on one of these albums, The Pleasure Principle, released 1979.  Gary’s first major band was called Tubeway Army.

Gladiator is a Ridley Scott film worth watching.  One of our favorite things about the historical Commodus was that at the height of his megalomania, he once renamed Rome, Colonia Commodiana (“The Colony of Commodus”), a fact attested to by extant coins struck during his reign.

Intermediate Settlers Strategies:

Puerto Rico, mentioned by Ethan, is a great board game designed by Andreas Seyfarth.  We will discuss it in a future episode!

If you want to dig more Dirty South hip hop, there are so many amazing artists to check out, but for starters, we can recommend Outkast, Goodie Mob, Big Tymers, Trick Daddy, and Rick Ross.  Trick Daddy and Rick Ross are from South Florida, so we have to give them a special shout-out!

Tej is an Ethiopian wine made from honey.  You can definitely find it if you live in a city with a lot of Ethiopians, like Minneapolis or Oakland; you will most likely also find it in most major metro areas in the U.S. and Europe.

In The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal gets Multiple Miggs to swallow his tongue, for rudeness to Clarice Starling.

Stump Chuck:  Chuck correctly answered “Talc” to the question of the softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale.

Here’s Chuck’s haiku about talc:

So soft in my hands

As i touch it, it slides away

this element

mineral, i know you well

this is talc

While this doesn’t conform to the strictest version of standards of a haiku (5-7-5 syllables), it does approximate the “cutting” meter and the traditional subject matter (nature) very well.  Which is pretty fucking good at a moment’s notice!  Write us at [email protected] if you want to try and stump Chuck!  (Put “Stump Chuck” in the subject line.)

Ethan mentions the Improv, which probably has a venue near you if you live near a big city in the U.S.

Chuck and Ethan discuss Irish cop relatives and their motivations for joining the force.  Ed Exeley, the reformer cop in LA Confidential, is mentioned.  Check it out, it’s worth watching.

Dave Chappelle does indeed still do stand-up, and is currently on his first major stand-up tour since leaving Chappelle’s Show back in 2004.  You can get tickets right now.

Next week, we hope to have Chris Limburg, the Fantasy Genius, from Chris & Chuck’s podcast, Fantasy Idiot/Fantasy Genius.

We’ll see you next week for a special Halloween episode featuring dead comedians!  In the meantime, keep the comments coming!