Official Episode 72 Show Notes by Boyana Atanasova

Schnauzer Logic Radio Show

Episode 72:

Sonovista, friends! Here are the next show notes of Schnauzer Logic Radio Show. This time we will discuss Episode 72 and almost everything that happened in it.

I will start with the fact that this was quite serious episode, but as Robin said “Don't worry... we'll change all that in 2010!” It was talked a lot about who should be the man of the decade, while this was the last show for 2009. The guests at the studio – Sheri and Parviz gave their opinion and it was fun to hear their arguments about the list of people Robin was giving them from an online poll.

Robin also gave us some details about his experience as guest at “Gender Blender” on KBOO.fm last week. He didn’t actually had enough time to tell the story of his transitions – the thing that was the reason he is there on the phone, so this interview didn’t turn out as good as he expected. Questions from the host there that were “nobody’s business” pissed him off. However, he found on that program some really nice people he would love to know better. They shared some of his thoughts so it was not so bad experience after all.

Jason was the first guest on the phone and he received a special song about “Hanukkah” – as present from Robin who was again creative with the audio editing. ;) In spite of the great discussion about the nominees for the “Golden Globe” prize Jason made in this episode, he surprised us all with the news that he won the “Golden Mike” award. Congratulations, Jason! This is really awesome! In Episode 72 you can hear the names of the most of the nominated films (for the Globes) this year and the nice comments from everybody in the studio.

Important part of the show this time was the radio journalist from KCBS Doug Sovern whose report about AIDS in Africa (the first part of it; the other can be found here – on the bottom left) was played in Schnauzer Logic. It was horrifying to hear how many problems people there have, but at the same time it was important to know that slowly things are changing for good. Part of the discussion with Doug was the type of thinking and the work of Barack Obama, who is always a nice subject of discussion in the show. Guess why? I can say that Doug was the highlight of Episode 72 and we all hope that he can be part of the show again!

Sheri shared her thoughts about China and the change in the country for the last ten years. She had the opportunity to visit some of the destinations there. The people living there were amazing with the great effort they were making to change the status quo.

It is necessary to say that after a great talk for “Man Of The Decade” was chosen again Barack Obama. It was logic while there in the list were names such as those of a bicyclist and a writer of stories about boys flying on their magic sticks, right Parviz?! ;)

Great holiday wishes were made by everybody in the studio and I am sure they will become true when we know that Schnauzer Logic will continue with its first episode for the new decade in the first week of January 2010. Your fingers should be crossed in the second week, because then will be Robin’s kidney surgery. We all wish him a lot of courage and good health for the years coming!

From my point of view – that was it, the 72^nd Episode of Schnauzer Logic Radio Show. Until next year! Gouranga!… or in other words: Be Happy!

Interesting Artifact and the Podcastification of "AirPlay"

sonovista, my friends... well, having spent my entire Saturday working on setting up this new blog site i've run across some interesting old Schnauzer Logic and AirPlay artifacts.

for those who don't know, in the beginning there was Schnauzer Logic and today there's Schnauzer Logic, but for 10 weeks in the Summer of 2001, i hosted the 9am-11am/M-F morning show on KSCO. the powers that be thought that the moniker "Schnauzer Logic" was too silly (they wanted Cafe Santa Cruz), and so i came up with a bunch of alternatives... one was SonoVista (yes, the show was going to be called SonoVista - "Sonos" for sound, and "Vista" for an expansive view of things you wouldn't normally see, so SonoVista for a broad expanse of things you wouldn't normally hear - get it?)... when i suggested SonoVista the powers that be looked at me like a poodle trying to figure out a card trick, so i went back to the drawing board and came up with AirPlay (we're playing around on the air... right? right?!?) and "repurposed" SonoVista as a new greeting...

anyway, i had an actual producer for AirPlay, the legendary Jodi Lee, and after a week or so it was clear that a lot of our guests had no idea how to be guests, at least not on the radio... so i came up with a list of 10 tips, that i thought every talk radio guest should know (ie, #2 - Despite our best efforts, AirPlay is a radio show, so no one will be able to see you shake your head 'yes' or 'no' in response to a question.)

and here it is (you can click on the image to make it bigger):

now i used to run the old AirPlay shows as a low-bitrate stream on a shoutcast channel, but haven't done that in a few years... but i'm thinking that what i'll do is release all 50 shows/100 hours (including the interviews with ben stein, sugar ray leonard, chubby checker, gary coleman, etc) as a "Directors Cut" podcast, complete with introductory commentary, perhaps one a week during 2010. Sean was on those shows (he sat in almost every friday) as was John DeKoven and Jason and "Cranky Dog" Chip Street and Parviz and a bunch of other folks you may know from SL. so for those who have been looking for access to the back catalog, this will be your Christmas gift for 2010! (i also have all of the old Schnauzer Logic shows from KSCO as well as the live shoutcast streams we did before the invention of podcasting and may find a way to toss those up, too... they're a bit rougher, but still have some very funny bits.)

and now i head off to bed.

hope you all have your holiday shopping done, especially our friends on the east coast where an early storm has dumped almost a foot of global warming white stuff on the ground. Ho Ho Ho!

namaste
robin

You Found Us! - Feel free to park anywhere...

sonovista, my friends, and welcome to the Schnauzer Logic Podcast blog, 2.0.

as you can see things are still under construction (we don't have all the buttons up yet and are still moving over the older blog posts), but the podcast player from Podcast Pickle is working, so it already feels like home.

any comments or suggestions about what you'd like to see here would be most welcome!

show notes for Episode 72, our last of the year, should be arriving on a flight from Bulgaria any day now and will be posted straight away! then look for us to return in the new year.

i may post other random stuff along the way, so check back now and then.

namaste
robin

Schnauzer Logic Episode 72 is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends! Well the last Schnauzer Logic for the year is recorded, encoded and trussed up like a Christmas Ham! I'll leave it to Boyana to provide the detailed show notes, but we discuss my recent appearance on Gender Blender, the entire description and audio of which can be found here kboo.fm/GenderBlender along with links to the guests, Donna Rose, Sassafras Lowery (who was VERY cool) and Joanne Herman.

We then finally get around to Jason Nathanson who discusses the nominations for the upcoming Golden Globe awards (Jay will be on the red carpet again this year), his newly announced win of a Golden Mike award, and other assorted nonsense (including a mashup of Alexandra Burke and Bill O'Reilly that goes on waaay too long!)

We also visit with Doug Sovern of KCBS and play part 1 of his 3 part series of AIDS in Africa and the work of the doctors of Faces Kenya and have a chance to discuss his experiences on this and other difficult stories. We also chat about the top/bottom stories of the last decade.

Lots of holiday tunes and much more. A well balanced Schnauzer Logic episode, it actually sounds like we know what we're doing and this could be a real radio show! Don't worry... we'll change all that in 2010!

Much love to you all for the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous of Holiday Seasons and the New Year! See you in the future, which has already begun!

namaste
robin

Welcome to Gender Blender Listeners

sonovista, my friends! (the traditional Schnauzer Logic greeting)... if you're here because you just heard me babble on incoherently for about 10 minutes on KBOO and Gender Blender, welcome... this is the show blog for a weekly 2hr comedy/pop culture/lifestyle/political/music show hosted by me and a rotating group of friends (they're always friends, they're just not always in the studio or on the phone!)... as i am 'trans' this technically qualifies as a 'trans' show (its true... i looked it up in the big book of 'wha!?!')... but as i was a talk radio host before my transition, after my transition, after my second transition and after my third transition (pant pant pant) this is first and foremost an entertainment show (which is the kind of show i love doing).. i have a unique perspective on gender based on my life experience, but that's not what the show is about... in truth, its about finding ways to make ourselves, each other, and the audience laugh, think, and laugh some more.

check out some of our recent shows (we've started up again after an extended break), or dig through the archives for our interviews with Mort Sahl, Jann Karam, J. Keith VanStratten, Lisa Parade, Bobby Kelton, Taylor Negron or any of the musicians, comedians or authors we've interviewed. as i used to say in my KSCO promos: if you're not doing anything better on a saturday night, it wouldn't kill you to listen.

strong recommendation indeed!

namaste
robin

Official Episode 71 Show Notes by Boyana Atanasova

Here we are – almost at the middle of December when Episode 71 of Schnauzer Logic radio show is already online. Let’s see what happened this time. Guests at the studio were Sheri, John and Parviz. This time no “phone guests”, but the talk with these people was as interesting and funny as always.

The show started with Robin’s story about his experience with listening short wave radio stations in the beginning of the 70s. Surprisingly for me, he knew a lot about stations such as this in Sofia or in Moscow, because he was a kid that enjoyed listening to music and talking from abroad at his backyard. Sending postcards to these programs and receiving an answer from countries such as Albania and Romania was also something likely that happened to Robin when he was a bit younger. ;)

This time we also heard my first audio report for Schnauzer Logic… It was actually my reading of the previous show notes, but it looked like everybody enjoyed what I’ve made. Next time I will try to do something different as I already have some suggestions from Robin, but we’ll see what will happen.

Main part of Episode 71 was Parviz’s “List of dead people: 2009”. Anything strange in this? Noooope. And, by the way – this was the part were everybody laughed for a veeery long time. Again. However – there were Walter Cronkite, Les Paul, Patrick Swayze, John Updike, Natasha Richardson and many others (someone said Michael Jackson? ;)) in this list. Sheri, John and Robin gave their opinions and impressions about everybody mentioned, pointing at Parviz that he is not well prepared for this segment. ;) On the day after the show was recorded Robin gave a long list with errors that they all made in the comments – a fact that increased the funny element in all this. Listen to the show and you’ll see… [Robin's Comment: Boyana is being very kind in her brief description of this segment. For the record, although Parviz was in a state of panic that we were going to cut him off, the actual discussion of Dead 2009 lasted for almost exactly 50 minutes, including one song break, or just under 50% of the show... I'm just saying...]

One of the nicest surprises this time was the info that someone has made a donation for the Schnauzer Logic Radio Show. So kind of you, whoever you are! This was a reason for Robin to give us advice to donate as much as we can afford and whenever we have ability to do it. An advice that also has my strong support!

Other top ten lists of 2009 were put in the conversation along with a short talk about saying “Merry Christmas” and the message people sent with it to others.

Episode 71 ended some minutes after its second hour without John in the studio. He left before the last segment of the show which Robin dedicated to his thoughts about the experience being transsexual and the process of gender transition. The death of Mike Penner was the reason he started writing some of his own experiences that will probably end up as an interesting book. This theme was also the reason Robin was invited to be a guest on "Gender Blender" next Tuesday, December 15th – on KBOO.fm.

Being happy depends on you and no one could not tell you what should be the way of your life. This is a nice way to end these show notes. Don’t forget that I am saying with them that Episode 71 of the history of Schnauzer Logic is online and waiting for you!

Again – wonderful show, a lot of laugh, good friends, nice music and positive vibes – all in Episode 71.

Until next time!

Go Elf Yourself (The Schnauzer Logic Version)

Thanks to Sheri, we've all been "Elf'd"... check out the video in the new SchnauzerLogic Video Player over in the sidebar.

Episode 71 Erratta

Sonovista, my friends! The official show notes from Boyana will be coming in due course, but in listening back to Episode 71 it appears that our grasp on the truth was looser than usual... this thread is a place to record various errata:

1. John Hughes did not write or direct Chinatown. Chinatown was directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne and Roman Polanski.

2. John Updike did not write Watership Down. Watership Down is a heroic fantasy about a small group of rabbits written by British author Richard Adams. John Updikes "Rabbit" series includes Rabbit Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, Rabbit At Rest and Rabbit Remembered. Unlike Watership Down, the 'Rabbit" series is not about a rabbit.

3. Walter Cronkite did not end his newscasts with, "That's my story and i'm sticking to it". That phrase was recited by Colin Quinn as anchor of the Weekend News Update on Saturday Night Live. Chevy Chase signed off by saying, "I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not". Cronkite said, "And That's The Way It Is (insert date) - For CBS News this is Walter Cronkite. Good Night".

4. Bea Arthur first appeared on TV in the role of Maude as Edith Bunker's cousin, Maude Finley in the series All In The Family.

5. In my discussion about moving the show blog from tblog to blogger i completely 'f'd' up and actually described the process of moving the blog from blogger to tblog. I attribute this total mental collapse to either (a) a micro-stroke or (b) alpha particles from outer space. In either event, the best way to make sure you always arrived at the show blog is to bookmark www.SchnauzerLogic.com

6. A few hunger-related charities that are highly rated as having low operating expenses/overhead and using the greatest percentage of their income for direct charitable purposes:

Action Against Hunger

Feeding America's Hungry Children

Mazon: A Jewish Response To Hunger

Sacred Heart Community Service

7. More info as i get it but right now it looks like i'm going to be a guest on "Gender Blender" next Tuesday, December 15th. The show runs from 6pm to 7pm pacific time and i'm scheduled to be on for 10 minutes in the second half hour. You can listen live on KBOO.FM

8. It's Larry "Bubbles" Brown and not Larry's Bubble Brown. More alpha particles, obviously.

to be continued...

The Photograph Parviz Didn't Want You To See...

studio shot from Episode 71 - a protective order prohibits me from telling you what Parviz was hiding.

SchnauzerLogic Episode 71 is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends! Episode 71 is online. How to describe the episode? Parviz, Parviz, Parviz! (hmmm mmmm mmmm!)

Show notes from Boyana will most certainly follow as Summer follows Spring!

until next time:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth and
Don't Be Attached To The Outcome

namaste
robin

Official Episode 70 Show Notes by Boyana Atanasova

This time, the show started really amazing! Robin decided to begin Episode 70 of Schnauzer Logic with the Bulgarian national anthem. What a great surprise for me and a wonderful gesture of our host, buddy and pal! :p

Guests at the studio were Sheri Stevens and John De Koven. Ops, I almost forgot Jeff Maranhas just like Robin did several times with John. On the phone there was a talk with Sean and Jason. As Robin said, Episode 70 was “politics free” so pop culture was the general topic of the show. Main role was given to Tiger Woods and the voice mail message that he sent to his lover. Everybody enjoyed commenting this strange message while Jason made a material about it on the KNX radio.

Pop culture this time meant the wedding of Chelsea Clinton, TV shows that everybody in the studio and on the phone watches, a scene from “The Big Lebowski”, Ivana Trump, Samuel L. Jackson (<=this link is NOT safe for work!) and so on… It was surprising to know how many hours Robin watches television per week! All of the guests made their comment on what they like and don’t like from the list of famous shows Robin gave them.

Interesting twist in this conversation was the talk about men and women in their 40s or 50s who decided to discover themselves as gays or lesbians. The main point of view that everybody shared was this one - people don’t usually look strange on such things when they happen at that age.

Sean (? I don’t make great difference between Sean and Jason’s voice, sorry!)… hmm, I am not sure that it was actually Sean, but however – he shared his experience in writing a script for a horror movie. If we trust him – “horror” people are not as geeky as we think they are. He received many ideas from fans of this genre and now he expects a good result of his hard work from the past few months. He was the one that said that there is money for such project so everybody wished him a good luck with it.

Robin was the next one who revealed news about Schnauzer Logic. He is now looking for second virtual assistant who will help him made an application for iPhone. It is supposed to be an easy way to have access to all of the podcasts recorded under the mark of Schnauzer Logic. If everything goes right – it may help everyone who is interested to read also this kind of show notes after the show is recorded and put online.

It was quite an amazing to understand that Parviz was the man who stopped a flight some years ago and Robin was helping him getting out of the trouble he had. The story is getting even more hilarious when you hear the details on Episode 70, while you reading the news posted about it here and here.

Jeff in the studio was also one of the attractions this time. Except for his sense of humor and funny way of interrupting others’ conversation, he told a strange story that happened to him not long ago. There were pajamas, handcuffs and police involved, but if you want to know the details – just check Episode 70 online.

And that was all. Actually – not all, but almost everything interesting that happened in Schnauzer logic radio show – Episode 70.

Until next time:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth and
Don't Be Attached To The Outcome!

SchnauzerLogic Episode 70 is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends! Episode 70 is signed, sealed and delivered to the iTunes Store for your enjoyment, so start enjoying already! Sheri, John DeKoven and my buddy Jeff Maranhas in the studio, Jason and Sean on the phone... lots of laughs and great music... and new show notes by Boytana Atanasova coming soon!

in the meanwhile:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth and
Don't Be Attached To The Outcome!

namaste
robin

Official Episode 69 Show Notes by Boyana Atanasova

Here we are – at the beginning of December 2009 and Episode 69 of Schnauzer Logic is online for almost a week. From where should we start this time? It is a great obligation for me to say that I (Boyana from Bulgaria, you didn’t forget this, right?) will be the “official archivist” of the radio show. Ta-da-daaa! In Episode 69 I even had my first world premiere of the notes written for the 68^th episode of Schnauzer Logic. But except the fact that something like 20 minutes from the show were dedicated to my work and the attempts to work of the other girl that was supposed to be a virtual assistant, there were plenty other interesting themes included.

This time Robin had only one guest in the studio and this was Sheri Stevens. Also, there on the phone (again) were Jason and Sean. The show started with interesting dialogue about BoingBoing.net. This online media which has a huge fan in the face of Robin, has published an intriguing material about the events before, during and after the attack on the 9/11. Wikileaks was also part of that conversation so you can try and find more information about this interesting project. Of course, if you are not in a country where the site is banned like I thought for Bulgaria, because it was not opening here for quite a long time (but it works now, though).

Also, in Episode 69 there was another reeeeaaally great thing – Sheri has a theme song at last! And what a great song this is. J Sean also heard a song that will be dedicated to his participation in the show, but something wasn’t right with its lyrics, huh Robin? ;)

Schnauzer Logic loves Twitter so we heard again a great conversation about the advantages of this social network. It won’t be fair to not mention that Jason told us that he isn’t really a fan of Twitter but his opinion was a wonderful chance to hear a nice discussion about the problems of the new media and the different types of communication between the journalists and the audience. “There is too much information there on Twitter”, said Jason and who can argue with him?

The other usual suspects (no, it is not soviet at all! :P) were also captured in the two hours of Episode 69. Jason, Sean, Sheri and Robin talked about Obama and his popularity, about the success of Oprah (who has a great picture with Jason) and the effect on the American society of actions such as Adam Lambert’s performance during the AMA ceremony.

This show was recorded only a day before Thanksgiving so there was also a time to talk about the holiday turkey and the vegetarian way of life. Jason said he is no longer vegetarian, while Robin is still “white, Buddhist, VEGETARIN”…

Some serious talk was made about an interview with Americans that went to meet Sarah Palin and it became clear that the radio show guests are not really happy of the way people (do not) understand politics and politicians. To love or fear someone? To love or to respect? That was the type of questions that Robin and Sean decided to discuss at a certain time. It sounds like it was a bit boring but it was not – I can assure you. Just listen online the podcast or download it. Black Friday was also mentioned once or twice, but you will get all of the comments about it in the “real” show.

At the end of Schnauzer Logic this time we heard Alice's Resaturant in enterity. That was all. Two hours put in a few paragraphs, which can’t represent the nice vibes that the radio show again managed to send us. We now wait number 70! Stay tuned!

Official Episode 68 Show Notes by Boyana Atanasova

Sanovista, friends!

It is a great pleasure to write the show notes of SchnauzerLogic after such a long break. And the pleasure is getting even greater when we know that Episode 68 from the history of the show was A LOT of fun.

All of the “suspects”, our dear friends were there – at Robin’s house or on the phone line. Sheri, Parviz, John DeKoven, Sean, Jason and Ken. All (or almost?) every best friend of SchnauzerLogic Radio show was there to participate in this first chapter after a rest that lasted more than anybody has ever expected.

But let we focus on what was all about in Episode 68;

1. As we already mentioned it - LOTS of laugh and fun - all the time and about everything. Having fun in front of the microphone is not something new for SchnauzerLogic, but this time it was really hard for all of the people invited to stay serious for at least a couple of minutes.

2. However, there was still time for quite serious themes including politics, social networks, pop culture, new music, Bluetooth devices (all of you that didn’t listen the show yet, what are you waiting for?!) and so on. Sean and Jason gave interesting information about their life and work – everything recent that happened with them. If we have to be honest – we have tried to make a picture of what was going on in the life of everybody on Episode 68 for the past 18-20 months. Obama, Twitter, Facebook, the lack of popularity for MySpace, did we forget something? Oh, Michael Jackson’s death, of course. Everybody thinks the same about this case – it was THE event of the year! However - all of the guests gave their opinion about the recent events in the USA (including Jay Leno’s recent attempts), while they were not laughing their asses off!

3. John introduced his comedy show center – the Bunjo’s. We’re now pretty sure that this place is worth visiting and while you are figuring out when to go – you can become fan of its Facebook profile.

4. Ken Turetzky on the phone gave us interesting information about his recent work or should we say it “lack” of work? ;) Also, we realized that he had serious health problems, which (thank God!) are now gone. Also, we found some time to hear one of his songs – “Let Love In” which can be found on his official site.

5. Parviz is no longer a plumber because the “plumber guild” is not doing its job very well. But we are confident that he will find a better job without having to take money “under the table”, as he said he can.

6. Finally but not by importance – Robin gave us an important advice how to survive when we have serious issues such as his health problems from the last couple of years. Total ignorance of bad people and acceptance of yourself – in the way that you want to be, no matter what anybody else is thinking of you.

That was Episode 68 from SchnauzerLogic Radio show just in few words, but they can not describe the joy to be back online. The pleasure was indescribable!

Until next time!

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth
And Don't Be Attached To The Outcome

Schnauzer Logic Episode 69 is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends! Schnauzer Logic Show Number 69 is online! we recorded it tonight with sheri in the studio and sean and jason on the phone.. comes in at 2hours plus, as a special bonus, if you stay until after the credits roll you can hear Alice's Resaturant in enterity.

Our blogger, Boyana, is on the case and we read her first show notes in tonight's show... i have to figure out an easy way to post the notes here on the blog... so stay tuned.

In the meanwhile, everyone enjoy the show... its like a big turkey (dinner)... guaranteed to put you to sleep! just remember to loosen your pants first!

namaste
robin

Parviz Doodles...

from the desk of Parviz, drawn during yesterday's show... not sure who its suppose to be, but stay tuned...

Schnauzer Logic Episode 68 is Online!!!

sonovista, my friends! (seems like oooooollllldddddd ttimmmmmeeeeeeessssss... dinner dates and movies...)

Schnauzer Logic Episode 68 is done, uploaded and online. Sheri, Parviz and John DeKoven were in the studio, Sean and Jason were on the phone, and we chatted and heard some new music from Ken Turetzky.

In order to try and reduce the SL workload (on me) i'm trying the services of two 'virtual assistants' to write each week's show notes... they both have the audio and should be preparing their version of the notes, so check back and we'll see how this experiment turns out.

The show was a little long and a little rough (no more editing... another difference in order to reduce the SL workload, going forward) but we all had a great time and laughed until the tears blurred our notes, so that's a good sign. We'll try to do regular shows once again, but my medical stuff remains (sadly) unresolved, so i may dump out with no warning and no apologies.

But for right here, right now, Enjoy!

namaste
robin

This Is Only A Test

This is a test

This is only a test

If i had actually uploaded an actual episode of Schnauzer Logic to the iTunes Store, and you had downloaded it, you would have been informed, enlightened or entertained. As none of these things happen in the audio you may have just stumbled across, it is only a test.

But it least it proves i still know how to press most of the right buttons.

that's all i'm saying

namaste
robin

Taking The Week Off...

Sonovista, my friends... its been a tumultuous 2 weeks... as "the Dude" would say, "lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta whathaveyous"... a huge 'thank you' to everyone who has written or called with messages of condolence... this little community of ours, based around a goofy podcast, is filled with love, and for that i am eternally grateful... my original plan was to do a show today (#20), but i stumbled and sean was back at the dentist and parviz's wife called and asked if she could take another shot at poisoning him... so i figured, we could take a 'buy' this week... plus, since we stopped doing our weekly interviews with Jason Nathanson, he's put an entire continent between himself and the Schnauzer studios... maybe it wasn't Oprah who was f'ckin up Jason's car-ma... maybe we have met the enemy and he is us?!?!?!

(nah...)

In any event, look for the return of Schnauzer Logic next wednesday with our exciting Show #20! Lots of surprises... lots of fun... a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer in your pants... my mom would be so proud!

namaste... robin

California... coming home...

Sonovista, my friends... i'm back home in northern california... i arrived late last night (thursday) after an a totally fucked-up day of travel... what should have been a 6 1/2 hour flight, coast to coast, turned into 14 hour sojorun with the US Airways shuttle from LaGuardia to Philidelphia taking off an hour late, which caused me to miss my connecting flight, which resulted in me being put on an even later flight, which resulted in me getting a broken seat, which resulted in more delays, which resulted in me getting my bags at SFO at around 8pm pacific time (14 hours after i got into a cab in NYC)... oh, and although the people on US Air were very nice, the airline is SHIT... everything is broken and torn and dirty and stained and for this i was granted the privilege of paying almost $500 one way... but god bless sheri, who picked me up and took me out for a nice dinner and strong bloody mary...

And now i'm home and dealing with the moment-by-moment reality of being alone... you know, after my dad passed away about 7 years ago, i started to call my mom every day... short calls, 5-10 minutes, just to touch base... talk about politics or popular culture... it wasn't because she was lonely, but because she was alone... and i told myself i was doing it for her... but what i didn't realize is that the tether connects at both ends, and now i have no one to call when i land after a long flight or get a good report from my kidney or brain doc or score some minor cosmic win... and i keep running into this just days after her passing... i think the buddhist philosophy i've studied and integrated into how i live my life will be helpful in getting through... just pay attention to the thoughts and feelings and see how they're connected...

in any event, a heartfelt 'thank you' to everyone who has written or called with their words and thoughts of condolence... it means a great deal... the memorial service was this past wednesday in NYC and it was very nice and warm and comforting to see how many people loved my mom... my uncle (the rabbi) strong-armed me into saying a few words, so i put together something for her friends and family... its posted below...

and now we move forward... next week, if the good lord's willing, the creek don't rise, and there ain't no meltdown, we'll do our 20th episode of Schnauzer Logic... i need to collect the gang, but it should be a great show with lots of guests and comedy... and then the week after that we'll do show 21... and 22... and 23... week by week, one step, one bad joke, one plumbing update at a time...

see you all there

namaste... robin

---

Mom - Riverside Memorial Chapel - NYC, NY - Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 11:30am

Good Morning… Thank you all for coming… It’s wonderful to see you all here this morning… I think it would have surprised my mom, though… we all knew how special and wonderful she was, but I’m not sure she always knew.

When I spoke with my uncle yesterday, he asked me if I wanted to speak at the memorial service this morning, and I said I didn’t know… and I said I didn’t know, not because I didn’t think I’d be able to find something to say, but because I was afraid that once I started talking, there’d be no way to stop… My mom was an amazing person… if you met her, even once, you’d never forget her… she was strong and smart and funny and opinionated… she was dedicated to her family and her friends and devoted to her grandson, Jason… and she was passionate about children and education and teaching… I think if the arthritis she suffered with and fought against for over 40 years hadn’t sapped her strength and broken her body, she would have been in classroom, even last week, passing on her knowledge and wisdom in her own unique way… There was nobody like Mrs. Goldstein… Old School, as the kids say today… my mom was old school before it was cool to be old school and she didn’t care about being cool… she was a complete human being, contradictions stacked on top of each other… I’ll give you an example… my mom didn’t like gadgets and wasn’t a big fan of technology… she didn’t have a TiVo… she allowed me to get her, only after a battle royale, a simple cell phone which she kept turned off (“its only for emergencies”), and though we’ve made considerable strides in the last 200 years in heating water, my mom insisted on making coffee by boiling water in a little pan on the stove… and she had an iPod… which she used to listen to books on tape… which she agreed to let me get for her only after I assured here they didn’t cost very much…

As I said, it wasn’t that I was afraid I would have nothing to say, but that one story would lead into the next and the next and the next… which would be fine with mom… she was first, and foremost, a story teller… in the past few days as I’ve met some of mom’s friends down in florida, they’ve all told me how ‘funny’ mom was… and she was funny, and she knew it… but she didn’t tell jokes… she told stories, in the grandest tradition… she was a natural performer with perfect timing… the few times I had her on my radio show she literally stole the show… she could have been a star in the modern world of punditry… she had an opinion about everything and wasn’t afraid or ashamed to let you know it… some of our biggest fights in recent years were over whether the latest season of Monk or Law and Order were as good as past seasons… and if she thought they stunk, she said so… and truth be told, she was usually right…

No, the challenge of speaking this morning is going through my countless memories and seeing what I can find to say about my mom that won’t end in tears now that she’s gone… I’ll tell you what I mean… I flew into LaGuardia yesterday afternoon, from florida, and as I got into the terminal I pulled out my cell phone to call her to let her know I was okay, and realized there was no one to call… when I was younger we used to fight about it all the time… “mom… I’m 20 – or 30 – or 40 –or almost 50… I’m O.K...” and she would say “I’m your mother… I worry”

So I looked for something to say about my mom that wouldn’t immediately start the flow of tears, and one thing came to mind… Pizza… My mom introduced me to pizza… I think she told me it was my first solid food… and some of my very earliest memories are of walking with her pushing my sister Lisa in her stroller, down the street, past the Bohacks, to the Newkirk Plaza, where we’d get a slice of pizza… just cheese and those hot red pepper flakes she liked so much…. i must have been 5 or 6, but I can still remember the sights and the smells and the taste… a little sweet… a little salty… chewy and crispy at the same time… when I think of meals with my mom, I think of pizza… now don’t get me wrong… she was an excellent cook… nothing haute cuisine, but good nutritious meals… veal and beef and chicken and turkey and fish…. The fact that I’m a vegetarian is no reflection on my mom’s pot roast or matzo ball soup… but she loved pizza and so did i… when I got a little older and started elementary school, the biggest treat would be to meet her for lunch at the little pizza parlor around the corner, next to the Leader Lanes on Coney Island Avenue… I still search for the taste of that memory… and when we moved to Central Valley, one of the first things we did was search out the local pizza place… in fact, I can tell you the location of the nearest pizza shop for every place I’ve every lived… and when I worked for Sony and spent all that time in Japan, I even kept the number of a Japanese pizzeria in my wallet… they were the only ones who would deliver, on a little motor scooter, and the hotel thought it was unseemly that I would order pizza on a motorbike, delivered to their fine establishment, so they would make me wait outside, in the parking lot, for the delivery, which I would accept in my broken Japanese, and scurry back to the room to taste a bit of home… and whenever and wherever I had some pizza, I would call mom and she would ask, “what did you have for lunch, or dinner” and I would say “Pizza”, and she would say, “Go On… make me jealous”… so I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the first food I had after my brain surgery, more than 20 years ago, was pizza… or that I’ve broken almost every yom kippur fast with pizza… or that lisa and I shared a pie in florida right after seeing her, the night before she died… or that I had a slice for dinner last night… you see, even though I grew up in a jewish home, my comfort food is a little bread, a little cheese, a little tomato, a little oregano, and a little olive oil… hot and fragrant… crispy and chewy… a little salty and a little sweet… my mom bought me a slice…

So the next time you bite into a slice of pizza, think of my mom and say, “Edna… I’m having some pizza” and you’ll be able to hear her say, “Go On… Make Me Jealous”

Thank you again for coming today… it means a lot to my family and to my mom.

No Schnauzer Logic This Week - My Mom, Edna Goldstein, Has Passed Away...

Sonovista, my friends... just a short note to let you all know there won't be an episode of Schnauzer Logic this week... my mom, Edna Goldstein, died this morning, just 2 weeks shy of her 80th birthday, from lung cancer... mom stopped smoking, cold turkey, 35 years ago, on the back steps of the Monroe Temple of Liberal Judaism, as we were leaving a meeting with the rabbi about my pending bar mitzvah... as we were walking out the door someone told her about a mutual friend who had just been diagnosed with the deadly disease and my mom took the cigarette out of her hand, and the pack out of her bag, and threw them in the temple dumpster and that was that... so if you smoke, please stop... no good can come of it... death from lung cancer is a hideous thing to see... it shakes your belief in any kind of higher power to think that a disease with the power to inflict such devastating pain and destruction on a human being could come from a merciful creator... and yet, my mom lived to be almost 80... so who can know how many ways i wouldn't have been able to disappoint her had she continued to smoke over the past 35 years... and truth be told, if you're almost 80 and you can still give your adult child grief on your own death bed, you've probably had a pretty full life... but there are such better ways to shuffle off this mortal coil (something involving a donkey, a ballerina and a giant sling-shot, for example)... and the sooner you quit, the more days you tack on to the other end, and maybe, just maybe, the donkey (or the ballerina) will get you before respiratory failure does... in any event, if you smoke, please stop.

Here is a photograph of my mom taken earlier this year... that's my mom on the right, and her aide, pauline, on the left... i got to know pauline over the past few days and she is everything you could want a caretaker (or just a good friend) to be... kind, funny, intelligent, invested, she was a perfect sparing partner for my mom up until the end (and no, she did not go gentle into that good night... and she most definitely did rage, rage against the dying of the light). Thank you, pauline.

My mom and I had a complex relationship... the gifts many, the challenges plentiful... but through my relationship with my mom i learned that its possible to hold and acknowledge the genuine hurt that someone may cause you with the unconditional love you can feel for them at the same time... both are real and denying either one diminishes who you are... forgiveness is not a prerequisite to love. I may talk more about this at some point, but suffice it to say, nothing can change how much i miss her (already).

And so, tomorrow (tuesday) i fly from south florida to NYC for her funeral on wednesday and subsequent burial next to my dad out on long island... and, at some point, i'll head back to california and regain my bearings and start all over again... a little sadder knowing she may be out there... i just can't call her to tell her what a great show we just did...

so until we meet again...
show up
pay attention
tell the truth
and don't be attached to the outcome
(and if you smoke, please stop)

namaste
robin

Schnauzer Logic Podcast Episode 19 is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends!... Did you ever have one of those weeks? Well, today was one of those weeks... two potential guests bagged out, Sean called to say he was having emergency dental work, and Parviz's wife tried to kill him with a turkey... Much Love!... And given all that's been going on in my life, I thought about postponing the show... but then everything would be out of whack and who knows what horrible effect that would have on the universe?!?... Pretzels with cheese inside? Pizza crusts with cheese inside? Irish Wolf Hounds with cheese inside? AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!

So I asked our traveling friend, Jason Nathanson if he wanted to sit in for a shortened show, and voila! All is right with the world and the universe maintains its cheesey goodness!

This week's show is only one-hour... we talk a bit with Jason about his time at KSCO, KGO and KFI, the politics of modern-day commercial/political talk-radio, and do you have to agree with the host in order to be a producer? We also learn that the first rule of computer repair has an almost universal application, to wit: step 1: make sure the computer is plugged in (for a VW van, step 1 is a bit different, but you feel no less foolish when you skip it!)... We also play the Spanish entry in the 2006 Eurovision song contest, and the #1 winning entry from Finland... And we check-in with Bryan Cox and Episode 9 of his award-winning series Real Stories of the Highway Comics... (and if a full hour with Jason isn't enough for you gluttonous bastards, you can hear this week's installment of his intervew on KSCO ::here:: )

Next week is Show 20, and we're hoping everything will be back to normbal... but until then:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth
And Don't Be Attached To The Outcome.

namaste
robin

Schnauzer Logic - Episode 18 Show is Online!!!

sonovista, my friends... again i have no time (right now), but this was such a great show i wanted to post some quick show notes:

1. Steve Golson talks about the history of Ms. PacMan (he was one of the guys who wrote it and got sued and then hired by Atari... a classic 80's hacker-turned-hero story)... He then talks about his wife Terry Golson's newest cookbook, The Farmstead Egg Cookbook, and about their 24/7 Hencam.

2. Jason Nathanson tells us how he tracked and killed Oprah using only a large cheese pizza... check out his blog randomshow.blogspot.com for lots more information, and listen to this week's KSCO interview (maybe someday he'll plug our show and blog since we give him so much ink!)

3. All this week's tunes come from the 2006 Eurovision song contest, including the Iranian entry (hint: there -was- no Iranian entry)

4. We REALLY REALLY need your advice to 2006 graduates for next-week's Commencement Address... thanks for those who have already sent yours in... to the other 700 of you, hey! you have the rest of the summer to smoke dope...

more later (maybe)

show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and don't be attached to the outcome

namaste... robin

What Advice Would You Give A New Graduate?

Sonovista, my friends! Being graduation season, here in the US, we're writing a commencement speech to give at the beginning of our next show... the problem is, so far all we've got is:

Drink 8 Glasses of Water Every Day

Never Stare Directly At An Eclipse (Solar, for sure... Lunar, we think)

Be Extra Nice To Hobos... They're Magic!

So you see our problem... Anyway, we're looking for advice to give the new graduate... something you heard at your own graduation that's helped you along the way, or something you've learned that you want to pass down to the next generation.

Post a comment to this entry, or send us an email using the email button at the top of the page... We'll collect all the advice and find a way to incorporate it into our speech!

Thanks in advance and have a great weekend!

namaste... robin

Schnauzer Logic Podcast Episode 17 is Online!

sonovista, my friends... no time for the ShIfT kEy, or detailed notes but, this one was a winner!

as the show opens, we take a call from a credit reporting agency trying to get information about Mr. & Mrs. Robin Goldstein (totally unplanned, and unprofessional, but maybe a little bit funny!)

we then talk with bob lamb, business manager and financial secretary/treasurer of UA Local 582 Plumbers and Steamfitters union... actually parviz does most of the talking

we also talk with jason nathanson, who's still in las vegas

we listen to the next installment of Bryan Cox Stand-Up Comic Road Stories

we listen in as the announce the winner of American Idol

and we toss around the idea of writing a Graduation Speech (send us your suggestions for advice to the graduates we should include!)

we'll add the links and more later

but for now

namaste... robin

Episode 16 of the Schnauzer Logic Podcast is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends! The show is up (though the iTunes Music Store seems cranky about listing it, right now), and you can grab it through your usual podcast tools, or listen in your browser by clicking on the MP3 button at the top of the blog.

Time is tight... I'm trying to catch up from being "on vacation" for the last two years by filling in for an Apple attorney who's on maternity leave... so, for now, money trumps art (or at least jostles it around a bit!)... so here's an abbreviated show blog... more later (maybe, if needed).

1. Thanks to Susan Moses of the Talking Tranny for her review of our podcast. Susan's blog is ::here :: and you can listen to her audio review of our show, by itself, ::here ::.

2. Mega Mega Thanks to John DeKoven of Laugh-A-Lot Productions and his friend, Todd Westerlund of the San Ramon California Chamber of Commerce for playing a round of Win John DeKoven's Money... John's record goes unbroken (Todd won). And if you send an email to John , he'll give you a free pair of passes to any if his comedy shows... So check it out! (BTW, I found a really interesting description of the history of Chambers of Commerce on Wikipedia ... it says the earliest Chambers were founded in Europe in 1599 and the first english-speaking Chamber was in Glasgow Scotland in 1783.

3. Bryan Cox is still turning out Road Stories of the Highway Comic. Thanks Big Bry!

4. Like a peanut, Jason Nathanson passed through Salt Lake City untouched, and is now hanging out in Las Vegas before heading off to Texas. Jason has some amazing stories (which apparently he'd prefer you read, rather than hear) on his blog at randomshow.blogspot.com, and some great photos, too! And if you can't get enough Jason, you can hear his interview with Rosemary Chalmers on KSCO this morning by clicking ::here ::.

5. Parviz gave us a shortened plumbing update in anticipation of next week, when we expect to be talking with Bob Lamb, Business Manager, Financial Secretary and Treasurer of U.A. Local 582. (and maybe we'll be checking in, again, with Robin Goldstein!)

6. And we finished with a Glenrothes toast to the 1-year anniversary of my brain surgery. Dr. Michael McDermott and the neurosurgical staff and neuroradiological staff at UCSF were nothing short of amazing.

We've been shorting on the tunes... we know... we're gonna fix it... promise... But here are the amazing bands from GarageBand.com we played this week:

1. Geoff Martyn from Glasgow, Scotland - "All American Dream"
2. Aaron Cheney from Seattle, Washington - "Intimate Strangers"
3. Gadget from Moscow, Russia - "Stupid Love"

And now you know what you didn't know when you didn't know what you knew!

So until next week:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth
And Don't Be Attached To The Outcome!

namaste
robin

Episode 15 of the Schnauzer Logic Podcast is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends! Episode 15 of the Schnauzer Logic Podcast is online and the only word you need to remember is: TrainWreck! (smile)... ok, not exactly a train wreck, but after 3 great weeks in a row, it was inevitable that we'd hit a bump, just to remind us that we're only demigods... and just to be clear, our guests, Jason Nathanson and Robin Goldstein (the smarter) were great... the glitches came mostly from your humble hostess, me (the giggler)... but we're already reviewing the game films, looking for holes in the offense and defense, and we'll be back again, next week, with another award winning show featuring an episode of Win John DeKoven's Money, and all of us giving 110%... meanwhile, we come not to bury Episode 15 (The Ides of Schnauzer), but to praise it...

We opened with a goofy discussion about a goofy kids show from 1968, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, which marked an early directorial effort by later day Omen/Superman/Lethal Weapon helmer, Richard Donner. We also talked about other early kids shows, including the strange/non-existant animation of Clutch Cargo and Space Angel (Synchro-Vox rules!), Soupy Sales, and Brazilian star Xuxa.

We then took a break and returned with this week's update from our good friend, Jason Nathanson, who's taking a journey across America, and chronicling his adventures on our show, and his blog at randomshow.blogspot.com. (btw, jason's theme song is by the group Rockapella) Oh, and if you want to hear Jason's interview from this morning (5/11) on KSCO, you can click ::here::

After our next break we came back with a short discussion on confidence and dating and then got directly into this week's plumbing update (well, not directly... Parviz wanted to listen to more of Ann Zimmerman's wonderful song first, but I think he was just stalling)... btw, we're trying to get a spokesman from the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

We then took another break, played Episode 4 of Bryan Cox's Stand Up Comedy Road Stories, and planned to come back talking with travel writer Robin Goldstein from his hotel room in Hong Kong.

that didn't happen...

1010-229 was down (even though i had tested it to the same number at the same time the day before), so we were forced into 'improv' mode...

(i hear the train a'comin...)

and i won't say any more about that effort except to say it was mercifully short (though perhaps not short enough) and it once again showed what a genius Phil Hendrie is!

However, after a quick poll, we decided to bite the bullet and pay "full fare" and we called Robin Goldstein, directly, at his hotel room in Hong Kong, where he's reviewing restaurants and hotels for Fodors before heading back to the US to celebrate the publication of his own Austin Texas restaurant review guide for Off The Map Press. I've known (of) Robin for over 10 years and though we've never spoken, he sounded totally cool and funny and interesting and I think I could kill him (maybe dump his body in a irrigation pipe, like i described to Jason) and take over his life and NOBODY would know the DIFFERENCE... or not... anyway, we're gonna have Robin back again, since he seems to be doing a much better job of being Robin Goldstein than I have!

And with that we wrapped it all up in a nice package, with a pink bow, and started into the tequila...

So, because of the technical problems, the segments were longer than usual (we know... 18 minute segments are boring!), and we only got to 3 songs, but they were terrific and can be found on GarageBand.com:

1. Simple Minded Fools from Hong Kong - "Left To Run"
2. Los Pistoleros from Orange, California - "Road Trip"
3. Thinking Out Loud from Hong Kong - "People"

And now you know what you didn't know when you didn't know what you knew... Next week John DeKoven, Jason Nathanson, Bryan Cox, maybe more Robin Goldstein... Sunday, remember Mother's Day (here in the US)... and as always:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth
And Don't Be Attached To The Outcome!

namaste
robin

Schnauzer Logic Podcast Episode 14 is Online!!!

Sonovista, my friends!!! Episode 14 of the Schnauzer Logic Podcast is online and I have to say that it feels like we've hit our stride... great music, great topics, great comedy and truly great guests! We hope you're enjoying the shows... if so, drop us a note and tell your friends (also, would a review on the iTunes Music Store kill ya?... huh? )

Ok... life is jam packed, so here's this week's show blog: short, sweet and to the point...

First, WOW... Ann Zimmerman was a terrific guest... you've heard her music, "The Plumber Is The Man" each week as we introduce Parviz's Plumbing Update segment... Well, Ann is a singer/song writer/lawyer/mediator/teacher/horse-farm-something-or-other and a whole lot more from Salina, Kansas. Two of her albums are available for download through iTunes, or you can get the straight scoop directly from her website. (Plus Ann knows a lot of things about a lot of things, so we're hoping she'll come back and talk with us again)... and if you're interested in folks music, make sure to check out the Kerrville Folk Festival, to be held this year May 25th to June 11th.

We also had our weekly update from Jason Nathanson... Jason is now officially "on the road", mostly going from Indian Casino to Indian Casino, and sleeping in his van in the gas station parking lots... THIS is the reason his jewish grandparents emigrated to this great country. Check out Jason's blog over at randomshow.blogspot.com, and offer him encouragement and some suggestions on where to go next.

After a break we also played this week's installment of Bryan Cox's Comic Road Story (#3 to be exact). And we talked about Stephen Colbert's appearance at this year's White House Press Corp Dinner, next week's scheduled appearance of my doppelganger, travel writer Robin Goldstein, Sean's entry in the IMDB for Kwoon, and we finished with Tales from the Pipe: The Parviz Fathali Plumbing Story. (oh, and in case you were wondering, the little opening bit of audio is our good friend Misha gum-chewing, late arrival as my engineer during the KSCO days of Schnauzer Logic... She's gone one to bigger and better things, which is why i like to keep playing the one mistake she made when she was 17!)

Finally, this weeks music..,. we got to play two different songs from Ann Zimmerman, Absolute Zero from her second album, "Canned Goods" (the one where the Plumbing song comes from), and If I Had Been Beautiful from "Wild Indigo", her latest album... as mentioned above, they're both available on the iTunes music store, or directly from Ann's website... and we had a couple of new tunes from some amazing artists on Garage Band :

1. Spacestation1 from Santa Cruz, CA - "What is Up?"
2. All Hail Me from Toledo, Ohio - "Throw It All Away"
3. Sean Patrick McGraw from Nashville, TN - "Fiona"

And know you know what you didn't know when you didn't know what you knew!

So until next week:

Show Up
Pay Attention
Tell The Truth
And Don't Be Attached To The Outcome

namaste
robin

SCHNAUZER LOGIC PODCAST BLOG IS PARTIALLY DOWN - HERE IS A LINK FOR THE ONLINE PLAYER

sonovista, my friends... looks like there's a bit of trouble in river city (or at least at tblog) and the banner and links for the Schnauzer Logic Podcast show blog is down... the folks here at tblog know and are in the process of fixing things, but until then if you want to hear the show with the online stream player you can click ::here::

we've got a great show planned tonight... Ann Zimmerman, the lovely voice behind the song "The Plumber is the Man" will be our guest, as well as our first travel installment of on-the-road with Jason Nathanson... Parviz will be here, and Sean is on the stand-by list... we hope to welcome you, too!

namaste... robin

Separated-At-Birth?

our good friend Jason Nathanson leaves on his round-the-world-in-a-VW-van tour today and posts some photos of his 'bon voyage' dinner on his blog randomshow.blogspot.com while browsing through the photos, i realized that jason reminded me of a favorite friend from childhood, "Wooly Willy", a smiling cherub whose magnetized skull was the perfect anchor for tiny iron 'hairs' (they don't make toys like that any more!) but don't take my word for it... you be da judge:

happy trails, my friend!

namaste... robin