tonight | Croncast - From Cool to Cul De Sac

hang time and a hot dog

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:34:51 -0500

the kids were great tonight at dinner. was time for a special treat after putting up with me all week and elliot catching one on the head.

i am becoming more certain as a parent that ketchup can make almost any situation better.

Tags: portillos hot dog italian beef

she's heading out

Fri, 02 May 2008 18:51:13 -0500

betsy is making her way into the city tonight to party like it is 1993 with her friends.

we'll have to see on monday's show how her new comedy chops work on them.

Tags: monday comedy chops work friends

internet talk radio - via twitter

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:53:07 -0500

blogtalkradio has bruce willis on tonight . . . http://tinyurl.com/434xxl. internet talk radio at it's finest on btr.

this message is a test, btw. :-).

Tags: internet talk radio bruce willis blogtalkradio

Season 19 Ep 8: Improv Tonight, Private Caller, The Skank is the Hero

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:06:50 -0600

Croncast - 2008-01-23.mp3
Show: #454
Length: 29:15
Size: 20.1mb
Format: mp3

Show us some love and leave us a review at iTunes

The Resale Queen Podcast is now here!
Every Saturday by 9 a.m. CST

Short show notes today. We plowed through and finished the show but it was tough today.

Notes:
I thought you had a great life lesson
You wouldn't let me finish
You need to find her and tell her
Your tongue led you down the right path
Thank you for being a skank
Your loving put me on bed rest for months
It gave me time to think

View Kris's resume or download it

Tags: bmx private caller improv mononucleosis small town medicine

Waking up, boy

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:47:10 -0600

This is the other photo that I had printed on canvas as a gift for Betsy this Christmas. It has yet to arrive but will hopefully be here tomorrow!

This shot will go next to the other Waking up, girl that I posted about a week ago.

I had one of these blown up to 12 X 18 and got it framed tonight for my mother-in-law. It looks awesome. Long live flickr and their partners!

Tags: buddha lotus waking tonight mother

Betsy and her husband Kris Dec 03, 2007

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:32:34 -0600

Croncast - 2007-12-03.mp3
Show: #441
Length: 33:28
Size: 23.0mb
Format: mp3

Show us some love and leave us a review at iTunes

Note: Something was off with the sound level on Betsy's mic in today's show and I didn't catch it until it was too late. Content wise, well, they all can't be winners.
Welcome to December
Ron Paul is taking Naperville by storm
If Rick was here this wouldn't be happening
Tell me why Iowa gets to pick the best candidate?
I dunno
I don't have a better answer
That is what I am talking about
It's needed for the parties to have a race and for the media to have a news cycle
Live blogging from a combine in the field
I like to see how far away I can find something to listen to
I didn't chase it on the quad
The law of the land says you gotta sit in the tree
It took 10 men and new named jr. to kill a deer
Are we gay or gangster tonight?
Oh, baby
Iowa matters to the candidates and the media
It's all bunk
Did you now just hear me?
They got the world's largest truck stop
You totally agree with me
My path has been illuminated Mr. B
My inner gyroscope has stopped spinning
Don't fall over
I'll talk more about our perfectly good babysitter
You need to bring it
She looks at me and says are you the comedian?
Are you the model?
I'm paying to learn how to be a comedian
If I were a doctor I would me doing bush medicine
Is there a big expectation to be funny?
There is always a standing expectation that you'll be funny
Brunch, play date, dinner or church I have to be funny
You're like a young Don Rickles
I saw him again, the Starbucks stalker guy
At church I had to follow two cases of breast cancer but I still slayed them
You're mom comes home
"Can you believe I had to go to three stores to get a dog sweater?"
Uh, no
The fact that you didn't have to go to 80 blows my mind
She dressed him in a rain coat
It wasn't a rain coat Kris, it was a fisherman outfit
We're thinking about doing another live show

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Tags: dog sweater Starbucks Ron Paul inner gyroscope Don Rickles

Hulu has movies

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:00:30 -0600

Was messing with Hulu tonight after writing some code and found that Universal has some movies available too. Full length movies. The buffer needs to be longer even on cable but it is a start

You got a taste for the Blues?

Tags: Blues Brothers full length Universal Studios movies online

Hulu is here (for late, late beta testers)

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:12:43 -0600

Which of course means me! Most of the bugs have probably been worked out of Hulu but I am excited, nonetheless, to have received my temporary login and password tonight. Why? Gems like this baby from 1983.

They got new episodes of shows like Heroes and The Office from last week but A-Team episodes are a prize.

In the first five minutes of using Hulu I like it about 99x better than Joost. I would kick it up to 100x they had a premium service that would let me download the videos. But from what I read in the Terms of Use item #4 that hasn't been ruled out.

Without downloads comparing this to iTunes would be like comparing Apples (oh, I kill me) and oranges. At this point I'm not quite sure that Hulu attempting to be iTunes. Let me stress, at this point. Since NBC pulled Heroes from iTunes they have to be missing that revenue.

Signs that making I'll be making this comparison in the future: in the playlist section of the site an RSS feed is created for the shows I add to my playlist and the portability of the video via Flash Player embed. It wouldn't surprise me if client side software is on the way soon.

The real downers for me right now are site nav, downloading and no Mad TV episodes. I'll post back in a couple days about this but I am pretty sure that I will be sharing more videos before that.

Tags: A-Team The Office Hulu hulu no downloads MadTV

Burning down the house

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 21:32:14 -0600

Betsy found this gem from last summer on the laptop tonight.

Some of you might remember when my mother-in-law set the grill ablaze last summer and my first instinct was to put it out with a sea salt grinder.

Advice: keep that fire extinguisher close or get a really big sea salt grinder.

Tags: salt sea grinder summer big

Not because of Andrew Keen, but because of the medium

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:15:36 -0500

The winner for my attention tonight was 20+ minutes was the A&R Channel, ARC, buried deep in the Comcast On Demand menu system.

Don't get me wrong here people, I am lucky to have gotten out alive to write this.

What sits in the bowels of ON Demand is usually bite sized bits of crap buried five menus deep under a layer of mediocre software and a UI so thick that I loathe entering into it. It's like content quicksand.

Tonight, however, I survived and found something so awesome and worthy that I thought it was time to shout about it. In the Music section of ON Demand there was a button, link, what have you, that listed the A&R Channel. I pressed OK to select it (and so should you) and then paged to the second menu for Keen on Media. Clicked it. Then read the info on ARC: Andrew Keen (yes, that Andrew Keen) interviews Ken Hertz, a dude who makes a living as music attorney.

I guess the reason that I am so excited about this is that I watched a show that looked like it was a podcast. It looked like it came from the internet. It looked like it was playing from that Apple device that puts moving pictures on my TV set. And not to be left out . . . the content was niche. When was the last time you watched something on television and a guest said Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 in succession? Never.

There sitting in front of me were the guys from the picture above, a media attorney and Mr. Cult of the Amateur, participating in the future of television; the marriage of IPTV, podcasts, internet shows, our television sets and the traditional distribution of cable and satellite programming.

So who's making it happen?

From what I can tell from quick research it appears to be Seth Shapiro or his company New Amsterdam Media. Does anybody know for sure?

Tags: A and R Channel Andrew Keen Ken Hertz Keen on Media Seth Shapiro Comcast ON Demand

Cul de sac magic

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:50:24 -0500

We spent about three hours outside tonight. It was probably the best family night we've had this year.

Tags: night best probably family year

Betsy and her husband Kris Oct 19, 2007

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:03:17 -0500

Croncast - 2007-10-19.mp3
Show: #422
Length: 30:17
Size: 20.8mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Oct 19, 2007

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Tell a Friend Friday!
Pause the show people and do it right now
Sorry we been away . . . we'll give you some news on Monday
Lots of heavy commenting yesterday
Get your sms thumb ready
What if I don't have sms thumb?
Yes, we will share on Monday
In the meantime I have a rockin' story Mr. B
Ok, well get on with it
I'm tired of this house looking like a warehouse
Can't buy it, Kris will bitch at me
I have to find something small that I can sell
Go to Goodwill, nothing
Go to garage sales, nothing
Have the Russians taken over at Goodwill?
It's on, their pricing is out of control
Regional trends in purse buying
Runs through my mind 6 times a day
I left Goodwill grumpy
I roll out to the garage sales thinking about my plushies
We pass by an overflowing dumpster
I am a dumpster snob so a video game joint doesn't entice me
I have standards
New t-shirt . . . Dumpster Snob
I lifted out a big box . . . full of Xbox and PS2 games
Baby, you stole someone's stash
Vicky says, there's movies too
And turns on the car dome light
Turn off the light dude!
Used, abused games
So I want to explain to you why I smell like another man's perfume
Tonight I had an epiphany
Did you go back to Bar Louie?
The garbages are there before us
Vickie, "It's not against the law"
Betsy, "Shut up and watch for cops"
All these stores throw out product
Vickie, "I know where I want to go"
Betsy, "Where?"
Vickie, "Bath and Body Works"
Baby, you guys are losing it
I think it is dumb to spend more than $1.50 on mascara
Vickie is watching me behind the Alta dumpster
What do they sell . . . perfume
It's dark, so I say to myself, follow the smell
I am lifting stuff out of the garbage and smelling it
Just because it is in the garbage doesn't mean that I want it
You never park next to the dumpster
It needs to be so you can screech away
On the next Croncast, Betsy's get away tips
In the next pull, my brother-in-law's Christmas gift
The cologne
A zip lock full of cologne and he would be like way to go
Vickie, "What the hell is this?"
Betsy, "It's Nautica"

-----------------------------------------------------
This is the funniest story Betsy has ever told!!!!!
I am crying while doing these show notes
-----------------------------------------------------

You have gone beyond Sanford and Son
Much praise to you baby for holding it down so we don't have to walk over your merchandise
This stuff could cost you your freedom if you keep it up
You probably shouldn't be doing this
Don't tell your law enforcement friends about the show today
What's wrong is the fact you picked up a bag of cologne?
What part of your game that said. "This is a good idea"
I gotta bring her back something
The used hair dye was not a winner
It was the best smelling of all the bags
So speaking of crazy stories
I walk out of the airport and lady with lots of red hair is in front of me
She's asking a guy
I realize that it's Kathy Griffin
Segue from you dumpster diving, I met Kathy Griffin
I got nothing compared to you, Bears
She is taller in real life
That can't be said much for the Hollywood set
Betsy, "I would have said, You are a bigger fag hag than me. I fucking love you. Can you please autograph my tit."
Yeah, I wouldn't have said that
She's thinking, who is this fat dude in the camel hair blazer?
It's 85 and he's got a coffee at 7 pm and eating a sandwich
Thanks to Ben for the comment . . . much appreciated!!!
A little math on the Croncast free shows
422 shows
Minimum cost to produce $600 (lowest rate I would charge client for a show like ours)
Total: $253,200
You go and find another chick who will go ass up in a dumpster for entertainment

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STICKERS!
Here's what it will look like . . . inside the red area with rounded corners
To get your sticker send $2.00 support from the site or get 3 stickers for $5.00

Tags: Kathy Griffin dumpster diving cologned in a bag Croncast Dumpster Snob

Hitting the comedy shrine with Betsy

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:00:24 -0500

Meeting Betsy's improv posse at The Comedy Shrine in Naperville.

Those of you who listen to the show might know how excited I am to be
here tonight.

Tags: shrine betsy comedy might excited

These animals will kill you

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:53:47 -0500

Santa guides his sleigh with them but according to WSB TV in Atlanta:

"Deer kill about 150 people a year in the United States."

This is serious! I had no idea. I need to arm myself or avoid the vermin at all cost.

Then I read the next sentence:

"But most of those deaths happen when deer are involved in collisions with automobiles."

Their new investigative report has begun - Tonight at 10, Killer deer that aren't mesmerized by your headlights, they want your blood.

For me, writing like this attached to stories of horrific events makes me place a lower value on what is put out my news organizations. Maybe next time a statistic about farming related fatalites? It could get wordsmithed I guess into, "Tractors kill or maim over 1,000 farmers a year."

Good work local MSM! Keep that fear coming. Now where did I put that doe urine?

Tags: killer deer WSB TV farm fatalities deer urine

Making things yellow - Croncast Stickers

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:37:22 -0500

All is quiet on the sticker front tonight. But Tuesday it should be hopping when the stickers arrive.

Send some support loot from the banner on the pages in the amount of $5.00 and we'll send you out 3 stickers. That is:

1 for your cube
1 for your car
1 for your dog

These stickers will make you smarter and encourage other drivers to tailgate.

Tags: stickers croncast life is show prep support the show loot

We'll be a little late with today's show

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:32:00 -0500

Hey guys, today's show is going to be a little late. With the storms tonight we are having a hard time getting Maggie down to sleep. So we are going to call it a night and hang with her since she is pretty freaked out by all the thunder.

We'll knock out a show in the morning that I will try to have up by 10 a.m.

Also, wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted comments and sent emails after the last show.

Tags: Croncast late show Kris Smith Betsy Smith

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 15, 2007

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:33:00 -0500

Croncast - 2007-08-15.mp3
Show: #397
Length: 29:34
Size: 20.3mb
Format: mp3

Betsy and her husband Kris Aug 15, 2007

photo on left by dave winer and photo on right by josh hallet thanks to both!

Join Croncast Cronies . . . thanks to all those signed up already!.

The nerd things that drive me crazy
Betsy is going to find me a online geek mistress
That would be sweet
You go ahead and marry that girl Mr. B
After days of this haven't you had enough?
Apologies for no show on Monday
I blew it on Sunday and had to take the red eye
No one wants to hear your drama
If it were done on graph paper it would have all been good
I didn't hear any of this "life would be better on paper" at Gnomedex
Here's what made it so cool
I had my nerds on one hand and my baby on the other
It was our 11th wedding anniversary
Yeah, and you take me to a nerd convention
Your nerd buddies are cooler and much more high functioning than I thought
Apologies to me for the ewok comment
A dude was dressed as a pirate
It was just one guy
The 12 sided dice and hoods were missing
The 11th wedding anniversary is as special as turning 36
Up to 10 you are swimming upstream . . . after that . . . floating in a tube
Seattle is a great place
You didn't plan our dinner Mr. B
Yes I did . . . reservations are a plan!
That is a large step
The restaurant turned out to be really nice
There was an attentive gay waiter
Can you hire one of those for me here at home
The beautiful view
Then a 3 story tall lighted Cadillac Escalade barge floated by
Nice view
The other awesome part was that you got to meet some listeners
Mark is an awesome guy
I know I told you that
Yeah, but you are usually wrong
At the party I saw the nerds trying to sink into their ringer tees
You have blossomed like a $10 orchid
Having social skills, Mr. B you have grown
Betsy got to see me in my element
I still don't get your people
Let's take Kosso for instance?
You can't pick Kosso he is normal
What about the guy dressed as a pirate Mr B?
The dudes that split a suit
The pic on right above is from the Thursday night out
Strange woman talking to us, looks at floor and walks away
The nerd wife put one shiny shoe right in front of him
My Nerd!
This nerd off limits
She busts out, "Well, I dress him!"
Not in a ha ha way
I don't understand your "Party Only" badge
She scared me
Those chicks look alright . . . "The Women of WarCraft"
God Damn
I'm not in to that type of stuff
These chicks were hot on a nerd level scale
We're going to score some mad nerd ass tonight
My people were talking to you because you were a personable lady
You've got nerd engagement skills
You've got to pretend your eyes are lasers
Yep, right here buddy
Asking a nerd what they do is not the right thing to ask
It is always difficult to explain
You asked me what the hell do you do?
Then tell them my title . . . right, what does that mean
The guy on the way home asked me, what do you do?
What was your reply Betsy?
I do nothing. I buy and sell shit.
So your husband is a nerd? Are you a nerd?
No
Do you podcast?
Yes
How many times a week?
3
You're not a nerd?
Do you sell your stuff online?
Yes
You're not a nerd?
Do you watch Heroes?
Yes
Watch John From Cincinnati?
Yes
You're not a nerd?
When buying swag for nerd events don't buy them white shirts
The other great part for me was first alcoholic beverage in 10 years
I had to announce it because you called me the teetotaling nerd husband
Not he hardcore found Jesus type of not drinking
That's not it Betsy
My first drink was Jagermeister with Aaron Brazell
I broke the seal and enjoyed the libations
Had an awesome time on Saturday night with Mark, Greg, Aaron, Kosso, Steve, Josh, Dave C., Mike, Chris, Michael and Dave D.
Not having to be on, Betsy's specialty
Betsy does her first improv class
Pretend you are a tree
Were you there?
My theater background is you know . . .
Yeah, lying under a theater major once doesn't count
My neighbor is in this class
Leave us some comments
Great American Yard Sale is this weekend
Thanks to Bernadette for this review and write up!

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Tags: Gnomedex 2007 Seattle Great American Yard Sale improv class The Women of WarCraft Jagermeister

Where is the show holmes?

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:48:13 -0500

Today is a Croncastless day. The travel trolls beat me down today on my way back to Denver and Betsy has been up in the mountains all day with Jeanie and the kids.

So after two full weeks we'll get a show done tonight for some special Tuesday joy joy.

That is all. I am going to try not to fall asleep in the office.

Tags: Croncastless Croncast Jeanie Betsy Tuesday show