Podcasts about whiz kids

In 1983, Marvel Comics launched a magazine about video games. This was not a comic book; it was a magazine. (Okay, it was a tiny comic book-sized magazine. Happy now?) It lasted just seven issues, utterly failing to make a blip, even though it was in fact called Blip. So today we're flipping through the first issue of Blip, trying to make sense of it all. On the cover is actor Matthew Laborteaux (Little House on the Prairie, Whiz Kids), looking very upset that we interrupted his game of Tron. Inside we learn the favorite video games of more Hollywood stars, assuming you define "star" as "someone who appeared on The Facts of Life once or twice." We also learn about Missile Command, Centipede, Dig Dug, Pitfall, and Bubble Yum. (That last one might just be an advertisement.) Sure, there were much bigger, much better video game magazines around in the early 80s. But only one was Stan Lee-approved. So stick with Blip, true believers.

October 7, 2001 San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds extends his major league record for home runs in season to 73 as he drives a 3-2 first inning knuckleball off Dodgers pitcher Dennis Springer over the right field fence. The blast also secures two more major league records for Bonds; as he surpassed Babe Ruth's .847 slugging percentage in 1920 with a .863 season slugging percentage and crushed Mark McGwire's 1998 mark of one HR every 7.27 at bats by homering in every 6.52 at-bats.October 7, 1936 - The Brooklyn Dodgers fire future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel. Thirteen years later, Stengel will be hired by the New York Yankees and will lead the team to five straight World Championships. Stengel will eventually conclude his Hall of Fame career with the cross-town New York Mets.October 7, 1969 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving slugging first baseman Dick Allen. Flood will refuse to report to the Phillies and will take baseball to court over the reserve clause that binds a player perpetually to one team.October 7, 2001 - On the last day of the season, Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres bloops a double down the right field line off Colorado Rockies' pitcher John Thomson to become the 25th major leaguer to collect 3,000 career base hits.October 7, 1950 - At Yankee Stadium, rookie pitcher Whitey Ford gets the win against Bob Miller and the Philadelphia Phillies 5 - 2 as the Yankees complete the World Series sweep of the "Whiz Kids." The sweep of the Phillies gives the Yankees their 13th World Championship, all coming since the acquisition of “The Babe”. Historical Recap performed by:Robyn Newton from - Robyn Says

October 7, 2001 San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds extends his major league record for home runs in season to 73 as he drives a 3-2 first inning knuckleball off Dodgers pitcher Dennis Springer over the right field fence. The blast also secures two more major league records for Bonds; as he surpassed Babe Ruth's .847 slugging percentage in 1920 with a .863 season slugging percentage and crushed Mark McGwire's 1998 mark of one HR every 7.27 at bats by homering in every 6.52 at-bats.October 7, 1936 - The Brooklyn Dodgers fire future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel. Thirteen years later, Stengel will be hired by the New York Yankees and will lead the team to five straight World Championships. Stengel will eventually conclude his Hall of Fame career with the cross-town New York Mets.October 7, 1969 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving slugging first baseman Dick Allen. Flood will refuse to report to the Phillies and will take baseball to court over the reserve clause that binds a player perpetually to one team.October 7, 2001 - On the last day of the season, Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres bloops a double down the right field line off Colorado Rockies' pitcher John Thomson to become the 25th major leaguer to collect 3,000 career base hits.October 7, 1950 - At Yankee Stadium, rookie pitcher Whitey Ford gets the win against Bob Miller and the Philadelphia Phillies 5 - 2 as the Yankees complete the World Series sweep of the "Whiz Kids." The sweep of the Phillies gives the Yankees their 13th World Championship, all coming since the acquisition of “The Babe”. Historical Recap performed by:Robyn Newton from - Robyn Says

Good Morning, Dog Days Listeners!   Today we're gonna talk about Todd Porter, star of Whiz Kids and Philadelphia's StarStuff !    

Good Morning, Dog Days Listeners!   Today we're gonna talk about Todd Porter, star of Whiz Kids and Philadelphia's StarStuff !    

Les Petits Genies will deliver this bedtime story that will lull you like a gentle rain.Check out Park Stop's online charity event, raising money to support LGBT Youth through the Trevor Project. Start a 7 day FREE trial of Sleep With Me Plus- The ultimate way to listen to show, based on how YOU listen! Get your Sleep With Me SleepPhones. Use "sleepwithme" for $5 off!!Learn more about producer Russell aka Rusty Biscuit at russellsperberg.com and @BabyTeethLA on IG.Show Artwork by Emily TatSupport our AAPI communityBlack Lives Matter. Here is a list of anti-racism resources.Support the people in Ukraine.Going through a hard time? You can find support at the Crisis Textline and see more global helplines here.CLARITIN - Nip your allergy symptoms in the bud this spring with Claritin D. Head to claritin.com to learn more and Live Claritin Clear.DUSKER - Turn your pillow into the comfiest earphone ever with Dusker's advanced under-pillow speaker, the Sleepbar. Head to dusker.com and use code SLEEPWITHME20 for 20% off.HELIX SLEEP - Take the 2-minute sleep quiz and they'll match you to a customized mattress that'll give you the best sleep of your life. Visit helixsleep.com/sleep for up to $200 off and 2 free pillows! ODOO - Simplify and connect every aspect of your company with this easy-to-use, all-in-one management platform software. Learn more at www.odoo.com/withme AIR DOCTOR PRO - Get a professional air purifier with a medical-grade UltraHEPA filter that's 100x more effective than ordinary HEPA filters. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code SLEEP for up to $300 off!AQUATRU - AquaTru is a 4-stage countertop purifier that works with NO installation or plumbing. Use promo code SLEEP for 20%!!! off at aquatru.com. ZOCDOC - With Zocdoc, you can search for local doctors who take your insurance, read verified patient reviews and book an appointment, in-person or video chat. Download the Zocdoc app to sign-up for FREE at zocdoc.com/sleep PROGRESSIVE - With the Name Your Price tool, you tell Progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance, and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. Get your quote today at progressive.com

Two MIT-educated brothers face severe legal consequences for allegedly orchestrating a rapid and sophisticated cryptocurrency heist, exploiting the Ethereum blockchain. The case underscores significant concerns about blockchain security and the need for stringent regulatory measures in the cryptocurrency industry.

On January 22 1976 — Pitchers RobinRoberts and Bob Lemon arevoted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.Roberts led the National League in starts and innings pitched for five straightseasons and was tops in victories for four consecutive years on his way to 286career wins. Lemon earned 20 victories six times and won 207 career games.RobinRoberts was the ace of the Phillies staff for most of his 14 years in abrilliant 19-season Major League career. The durable workhorse with a superiorfastball and pinpoint control won 286 games and compiled six consecutive20-victory seasons. In 1950, he paced the Phils to their first flag in 35 yearswith a 20-11 record. A tough competitor, he was a frequent league leader invictories, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts, toppingthe National League in wins from 1952-55.Bob Lemon realized his destiny as apitcher eight years after making his professional debut as aninfielder-outfielder. At the age of 25, he embarked on a Major League pitchingcareer that included seven 20-win seasons over a nine-year span. The right-handedace became a key factor in Cleveland's 1948 and '54 pennant drives, postingrecords of 20-14 and 23-7, respectively. After his playing days, Lemon became asuccessful manager, leading the Yankees to the world championship in 1978.

On January 22 1976 — Pitchers RobinRoberts and Bob Lemon arevoted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.Roberts led the National League in starts and innings pitched for five straightseasons and was tops in victories for four consecutive years on his way to 286career wins. Lemon earned 20 victories six times and won 207 career games.RobinRoberts was the ace of the Phillies staff for most of his 14 years in abrilliant 19-season Major League career. The durable workhorse with a superiorfastball and pinpoint control won 286 games and compiled six consecutive20-victory seasons. In 1950, he paced the Phils to their first flag in 35 yearswith a 20-11 record. A tough competitor, he was a frequent league leader invictories, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts, toppingthe National League in wins from 1952-55.Bob Lemon realized his destiny as apitcher eight years after making his professional debut as aninfielder-outfielder. At the age of 25, he embarked on a Major League pitchingcareer that included seven 20-win seasons over a nine-year span. The right-handedace became a key factor in Cleveland's 1948 and '54 pennant drives, postingrecords of 20-14 and 23-7, respectively. After his playing days, Lemon became asuccessful manager, leading the Yankees to the world championship in 1978.

On January 22 1976 — Pitchers RobinRoberts and Bob Lemon arevoted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.Roberts led the National League in starts and innings pitched for five straightseasons and was tops in victories for four consecutive years on his way to 286career wins. Lemon earned 20 victories six times and won 207 career games.RobinRoberts was the ace of the Phillies staff for most of his 14 years in abrilliant 19-season Major League career. The durable workhorse with a superiorfastball and pinpoint control won 286 games and compiled six consecutive20-victory seasons. In 1950, he paced the Phils to their first flag in 35 yearswith a 20-11 record. A tough competitor, he was a frequent league leader invictories, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts, toppingthe National League in wins from 1952-55.Bob Lemon realized his destiny as apitcher eight years after making his professional debut as aninfielder-outfielder. At the age of 25, he embarked on a Major League pitchingcareer that included seven 20-win seasons over a nine-year span. The right-handedace became a key factor in Cleveland's 1948 and '54 pennant drives, postingrecords of 20-14 and 23-7, respectively. After his playing days, Lemon became asuccessful manager, leading the Yankees to the world championship in 1978.

The Whiz Kids take their mysterious key to a seemingly abandoned windmill with some...dubious residents. Garath brandishes his trumpet of stealth. Arnold takes a hit from a jong. Mel tells Josh Pat to bite a ghost. And of course...wait, holy shit is that legendary actor Keanbro Steves? Featuring: - A sentient puppet - Live-action courtroom drama - A drug dealer and his friends - A surprisingly scary haunting We are joined in the Stupid Studio this week by the BADASS Jenna over at Tales From The Forgotten Troupe. You can should absolutely check out their videos here! @talesfromtheforgottentroupe This episode is brought to you by the DOPE-ASS dice sets at librisarcana.com. Check them out with our exclusive discount code STUPID20 for 20% off site-wide. Follow us! Jenna: @forgottentroupe Anthony LaFauci: @AnthonyLaFauci Dianna Lee: @diannasaurusr3x Garion Neuse: youtube.com/@kanashi6804 Alexander James: @drunkscribe @Critically Stupid #podcast #dnd #ttrpg #dungeonsanddragons #dnd5e

As state lawmakers get set for a special session on property tax relief, Colorado's Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, and Utah's Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, talk about a concept called "Disagree Better," aimed at reducing animosity in civic life. Then, Denver author J.E. Thomas shares her book, "Control Freaks" with Ryan and 5th grader Della Johnson.

As state lawmakers get set for a special session on property tax relief, Colorado's Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, and Utah's Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, talk about a concept called "Disagree Better," aimed at reducing animosity in civic life. Then, Denver author J.E. Thomas shares her book, "Control Freaks" with Ryan and 5th grader Della Johnson.

Episode 280s McNamara's Impact on Ford In 1946, as Henry Ford II grappled with the chaos his grandfather had left behind, the company lost a staggering $85 million (about $1.4 Billion today) within eight months. Enter Robert S. McNamara, the brightest star among the Whiz Kids – a group of ten highly educated and ambitious men who had worked together in the U.S. Army's Air Force. Together, they breathed new life into Ford Motor Company.Did Henry Ford II seek the brilliance of General Motors' Alfred P. Sloan when he named Robert S. McNamara as president of Ford Motor Company? As GM's dominance grew in the 1920s and '30s, Ford aspired to surpass them. McNamara, a non-Ford family member, infused modernity into the company like an invigorating breath of fresh air. However, while Sloan sculpted the contemporary automotive corporation, McNamara embodied a sterile, numbers-driven manager.Both Sloan and McNamara were modern managers; however, McNamara was cold and distant—a bean counter who prioritized statistical analysis over product innovation.As Ford's fortunes were resurrected, Henry Ford II savored an additional triumph – in 1957, Ford outsold Chevrolet for the first time in over two decades. Observers noted McNamara's quick adaptability and his establishment of robust financial controls but struggled to pinpoint a lasting legacy.McNamara's ascent to Ford's presidency symbolized the rise of the modern manager, but would he be considered for such a position today? Doubtful. The legendary Robert Lutz should remind us that product reigns supreme. Today, bringing in someone without strong industry experience is risky.In 1960, McNamara retired from Ford, less than a month after becoming President, to accept President John F. Kennedy's invitation to serve as Secretary of Defense. He remained in this post after Kennedy's death to support President Lyndon B. Johnson during the tumultuous Vietnam War era. Through war and peace, Robert S. McNamara's sharp intellect and sense of fiscal responsibility helped preserve Ford Motor Company during a time of crisis.www.nodrivinggloves.com#cars #car #collectorcars oldcars #cartalk #electriccars #ev #hotrod #carhistory #automotivehistory #automobile #thisdayinautomotivehistory #thisdayinhistory #classiccars #sloan #fordfalcon #secertaryofdefense #NaPodPoMo

October 7, 2001 San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds extends his major league record for home runs in season to 73 as he drives a 3-2 first inning knuckleball off Dodgerspitcher Dennis Springer over the right field fence. The blast also secures twomore major league records for Bonds; as he surpassed Babe Ruth's .847 sluggingpercentage in 1920 with a .863 season slugging percentage and crushed MarkMcGwire's 1998 mark of one HR every 7.27 at bats by homering in every 6.52at-bats. October 7, 1936 - The Brooklyn Dodgers fire future Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel.Thirteen years later, Stengel will be hired by the New York Yankees and willlead the team to five straight World Championships. Stengel will eventuallyconclude his Hall of Fame career with the cross-town New York Mets. October 7, 1969 - The St. Louis Cardinals trade outfielder Curt Flood to the PhiladelphiaPhillies in a blockbuster deal involving slugging first baseman Richie Allen.Flood will refuse to report to the Phillies and will take baseball to courtover the reserve clause that binds a player perpetually to one team. October 7, 2001 - On the last day of the season,Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres bloops a double down the right fieldline off Colorado Rockies' pitcher John Thomson to become the 25th majorleaguer to collect 3,000 career base hits. October 7, 1950 - At Yankee Stadium, rookie pitcher Whitey Ford gets the win against BobMiller and the Philadelphia Phillies 5 - 2 as the Yankees complete the WorldSeries sweep of the "Whiz Kids." The sweep of the Phillies gives theYankees their 13th World Championship, all coming since the acquisition of “TheBabe”. Historical Recap performed by:Robyn Newton from - Robyn Says

Share | Follow | Subscribe | This episode recounts the world title boxing wins of 1994 that involved Ike Quartey and Alfred Kotey and the instrumental role their manager/promoter, Yoofi Boham played in their careers. A journey through Yoofi Boham's life, boxing in general in Ghana and the whizkids - the young boxers at the time who made the 90s the best years for Boxing. A GCR Production - Africa's Premiere Podcast Network

Max Gail Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson What a thrill it is when someone whose work I admire, adore, and respect exceeds all my expectations as a human. Max Gail, actor, director, advocate, songwriter, two-time Emmy Award Nominee, for Barney Miller, and two-time Emmy Winner for General Hospital did just that. Spending time in his most excellent company felt like a giant hug, like going home. Max took us back to his childhood homes in Detroit and Florida, his six siblings, five of whom are twins, including his twin sister… crazy, the music his father instilled in him, his academic science “nerd” education, the songwriting, with rhyming lyrics of which he treated us to a delicious taste, backing into acting, a gift from his mother, co-starring in the original stage production of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest as Chief Bromden in San Francisco, and reprising the role in his New York stage debut. He did his first film role in Dirty Harry, small parts on TV, and in commercials, till he got to Barney Miller, his Game Changer. You have to be smart to act dumb. Max with the masters mastered it. We talked about a lot of things along the way… acting, writing, auditioning, failing, scoring, native Americans, marriage, fatherhood, grandfatherhood, a later-in-life surprise, DC Cab, Belushi, Whiz Kids, 42, Alzheimer's, General Hospital… Max, always fascinating, thoughtful, and delightful. I loved every moment, and I'm so grateful to have gotten this opportunity to know Max a bit and to discover his heart is as huge as his talent. No wonder he's so beloved, by his fans, of which I'm one, as well as just about every actor I know. Deserved! As much as I adored Max Gail before this sit-down, multiply it a gazillionfold. What fun! And boy, does he know to close. I still have goosebumps. Max Gail Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, August 30th, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Streamed Live on The Facebook Replay here: https://bit.ly/3OWqb9i

What will become of New Milford's old Cookhouse? The guys asked New Milford Mayor Pete Bass. Reddit thread exposes men who clearly broke urinal etiquette. Prime is making sweeping changes on their Thursday Night Football programming. The lawsuit against Burger King is moving forward, the plaintiffs say the Whopper is way too small. Ethan, Lou & Dave on what they love about Suits.

This week on It Was a Thing on TV we hack some computers right before we start Pilot Month 2023. First, in the early 1980s, one of the most popular pieces of electronics was the home computer.  (Spoiler:  It's still popular to this day!)  In the era of the movies Tron and WarGames came the show Whiz Kids, which may have hit a little too close to home for adults. Finally, what we've all been waiting for! Pilot Month 2023 starts now!  Over the next month or so, we will cover 11 pilots.  The first pilot is an American adaptation of a popular British game show.  Alison Sweeney and a judge from 25 Words or Less take their shot at Pointless. Follow us at all our socials via our Linktree page at linktr.ee/itwasathingontv    Timestamps 0:39 - Whiz Kids 1:19:26 - Pointless (2017 GSN pilot)

In the early 1980s, one of the most popular pieces of electronics was the home computer.  (Spoiler:  It's still popular to this day!)  In the era of the movies Tron and WarGames came the show Whiz Kids, which may have hit a little too close to home for adults.

This week on the podcast the guys discuss the 1950 "Whiz Kids" Phillies, the seeminly short remaining life of Regional Sports Networks, and of course a new crop of Hall of Famers to discuss. Is it possible that they may actually be giving their first player the heave ho from the Hall and what effect will the loss of revenue from TV contracts have on handing out huge contracts to the likes Manny Machado and others? Hope you'll listen to find out the answers to those questions and more on the Small Hall Baseball Podcast!

Burna Boy will be the first African artist to headline a UK stadium show when he performs at the 60,000-capacity London Stadium this summer. It's the latest sign of Burna's starpower and Afrobeats exploding popularity.The Nigeria-born artist is one of the genre's biggest stars. Burna has reached this level because of consistency (six albums in nine years), savvy performing strategies, and a headliner mentality. To break down Burna's rise, I talked to Denisha Kuhlor, founder of Stan, which helps artists identify and grow their fanbase. Stan has used Burna show giveaways to develop insight into his wide-spreading fanbase. Here's what we discussed:[3:05] What sets Burna Boy apart from other African artists[6:26] Burna's show at London Stadium[7:26] The Burna fanbase[7:52] Streaming era impact on African music[11:56] Returning to Coachella after 2019 drama[17:05] How Ye incidentally helped Burna break out[19:16] How fame is perceived in Africa vs US[20:45] Fans of Africa's “Big Three” artists battling each other[21:50] Burna's “contested” Madison Square Garden sellout[24:11] Possible missteps in Burna's career[27:54] Projecting Burna's future shows[32:20] His best career move[38:03] Building record label infrastructure in Africa[44:06] Five-year prediction for Burna's careerListen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Overcast | Amazon | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | RSSHost: Dan Runcie, @RuncieDan, trapital.coGuests: Denisha Kuhlor, @denishakuhlorThis episode was brought to you by trac. Learn more about how artists can bring web2 and web3 together for their fans at trac.coEnjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapitalTrapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital's free memo.TRANSCRIPT[00:00:00] Denisha Kuhlor: I think it was interesting, him being so vocal in the approach he took, I think a lot of, Ayra Starr did a documentary for Spotify and she's quite big, especially within West Africa. And she talked about touring in the United States for the first time, and she basically said that she viewed it as an opportunity to make someone her fan, right?[00:00:19] Like, just by someone attending her show, her goal was to convert them into a fan. Whereas, Burna definitely takes the approach of, "you should either already be one or recognize my fan base for what they are." I think in his case he's lucky cuz he's been able to back it up. especially when you look at Coachella to now.[00:00:40] but definitely a, an approach that's consistent with his brand. [00:01:11] Dan Runcie Guest Intro: Today's episode is a case study style breakdown on the one and only Burna Boy. I was joined by someone who is a near expert when it comes to the world of Burna Boy, and that is Denisha Kuhlor, who has been on the pod several times, and she is the founder of Stan, where not only does she focus on how artists can engage their fan bases, she's actually been involved with ticket giveaways for Burna Boy's upcoming stadium show in London. So she has insights into what these fans are like, what are some of their preferences? And we talked about all that and more. We broke down, Burna Boy's rise. What are some of the key things to his success? What are some of the challenges? Talked about some of the other moments that he's had that we wanted to talk about.[00:01:57] Where does that stand with him? What is his standout moment and where things could really go for him from here on out? Really great conversation. If you enjoyed the one we did on Cash Money a couple weeks ago. This is something similar, but about an artist who is really having this moment right now, and we broke it all down.[00:02:12] Here's our breakdown on Burna Boy.[00:02:14] Dan Runcie: All right, today we have our case study style breakdown on the one and only Burna Boy, and who else is gonna join me then? Someone that understands him and the work that he's done in and out over the past few years. Denisha Kuhlor Welcome back to the pod.[00:02:29] Denisha Kuhlor: Thanks so much for having me. [00:02:30] Dan Runcie: Yeah, and I wanted to talk to you because you wrote that piece in Trapital several months ago, talking about how artists who have relied on music festivals, maybe there's something that they may regret down the road in terms of actually getting in there and building the true fanboy fan base. And you used Burna Boy as an example of someone that went through this and obviously he's blowing up. He's had a huge year and we've now seen so much growth, especially in the past few years of just how so many African artists have been able to rise and grow platform.[00:03:05] But Burna Boy has clearly been able to hit levels that many others haven't. What do you think it is that has set him apart?[00:03:13] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, I think one, just Bruno boy is very compelling, as an artist. I've seen him perform, last year twice. his Madison Square Garden show. Then I got to see him at, Afrochella now, Afro Future, in Ghana. And one, he is a live band, as crazy as that sounds, I feel like that's rare and rarer these days. as consumers, it kind of feels like we've gotten used to maybe a DJ or kind of that accompany accompaniment. So the live band aspect is a huge one for me, and I think he's very compelling on stage and has great, charisma. and then lastly, I kind of feel like he was everywhere this year.[00:03:53] You couldn't really. Escape him, whether it was last, last, as a hit or, him touring so much of the United States. I feel like if you didn't know about Burna boy, maybe a year or two ago, last year was definitely just a true breakout year for him on the global stage. [00:04:09] Dan Runcie: Yeah, I think that makes sense. I think there was a couple other things that stuck out to me too. So he has been able to position himself as a leading man. I am the person that's headlining. I'm not just gonna be the person opening for the artist. gonna be the person that is doing the guest first.[00:04:27] And I do think that's some of the other artists who rose up from Africa, they have done a bit more of the, "okay, let me jump on the Drake verse. And then that becomes Drake's or things like that." although I know that Burna has done several guest appearances and feature shares, it hasn't been in that same way.[00:04:45] And I think he's still just been so focused on himself in that way. And of course it could take a little bit longer to develop, but it's almost like how in Hollywood you may see someone that is always positioning themselves as supporting acting roles. If that's where you're taken to blow up, it could be hard for the industry to see you.[00:05:04] The lead actor, but if you're willing to do the lead actor roles for the smaller things and you get the right thing, then you become seen as the lead actor on the big I feel like that's [00:05:14] been his experience. [00:05:15] Denisha Kuhlor: I'm totally aligned with you when, just based off you talking about that makes me think about some of his features on the continent. And he's largely broken those artists, right? You look at Bnxn,formerly known as Buju, right? [00:05:27] And the Lenu remix who was signed a Burna. I first heard about Amapiano,because Burna Boy got on the Spoon, No No remix, and one of the biggest breakout stars of the continent, Asake, the Zumba remix, this year. So I agree, I think he's positioned his features as more as like, let me lend a helping hand and let me get your distribution and your visibility. But if I was. In African artists or emerging artists from the continent vying for a feature in some ways, I'd probably wanna Burna feature over potentially a big artist from the west. [00:06:04] Dan Runcie: Yeah. And I think a lot of that is with his. And his persona, and we can get into that in a minute, but I that played into a lot of this. And as you said, he's been every run the past year and we're setting stage for an even bigger 2023 where he will do his stadium tour at London Stadium, the first African artist, a headline and do that.[00:06:26] What does that mean for his career?[00:06:28] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. One, I think it's just huge and a testament to how far music from the continent has grown. I think, you know, you look at the story or how people paint the narrative of how music from the continent has grown. And so often it's kind of like, oh, there's a population of people here or there's little, you know, subsets of people that are interested in the music.[00:06:51] Whereas now, it's makes it very clear that this is world music, right? This is pop music in a lot of ways in that people have embraced this music in the same way you look at, Latin music, right? And people are singing whether they know Spanish or not. I think it's really a testament to the ability to do that. So it's very exciting. [00:07:13] Dan Runcie: Yeah. I think you've also had a front row seat to this as well, because with your work at Stan, you've been doing ticket giveaways and things like that to really tap into who the Burna Boy super fans are.[00:07:26] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, so we've found two things working with Burna Boy fans or Burna Boy fan pages. Is that, or maybe even three. I find that one you have the fan that maybe, it reminds them of home. So typically a fan with roots or ties back to West Africa or Africa more broadly, who's now living abroad or first generation, but there's a sense of nostalgia or home as a result.[00:07:52] I think you also have fans that are like learning or being introduced to, Africa. Through his music, which has been really fascinating and really cool to see us talking to a fan, based in France, right? That like taught herself pidgin and like wants to visit Nigeria because she's such a big Burna boy fan.[00:08:11] and that's also really, really cool to see. And then third, I think you just have like hometown pride, right? Like you look at people in Lagos or even other African cities and people are just really, really proud of what he's been able to do. So it's interesting seeing all the subsets of fans together.[00:08:29] Denisha Kuhlor: But as someone who's attended his shows, I think it's exhilarating when you watch it all come together. [00:08:36] Dan Runcie: And just for some context for the listeners, what does your giveaway entail and what does that process look like?[00:08:43] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. So, we run live interactive trivia games that allow us to test a fan's knowledge and how much they actually know about the artists. So everything from lyrics to questions that fans would only know if they watch music videos to general information about Burna boy that you probably would only get if you read his interviews [00:09:04] or you just deeply know about him. Every time we're crafting these games, I actually learn so much more about, these artists that we work with. And so I say that to say, I'm continuously surprised not only by his fans' knowledge of his music and his lyrics, but also how intentional they've been about truly learning about him and what they feel he represents. And so I feel like he's done a really good job of being consistent in that narrative.[00:09:32] Dan Runcie: I think too, one of the other things that really works in his favor is that in the rise of the streaming era, we're seeing the rise of local repertoire and local language artists being able to rise and not just have to rely on Western cultures. And I think that the music industry has shifted a bit, or at least from a mentality perspective, and you could see this on the Spotify daily charts.[00:09:56] You can see there's so many places where there were so many artists who were used to being able to have that global footprint of essentially exporting their music elsewhere than making so much money they're now seeing less and they're seeing less because a lot of these artists are being able to do it themselves, and it's not just.[00:10:16] Burna Boy's being able to do this in West Africa, but he's being able to do this in France, which has, you know, a large West African population and some of these other corners of the world that do, and I'm curious to see how that will continue to develop, because you know how the diaspora and certain regions that.[00:10:34] You see more fans of West African artists than just West Africans in general, and how that will align with where someone like Burna Boy continues to tour and where some of the bigger concentrations of his fandom end up being.[00:10:49] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. I think, you know, interestingly enough, like he also probably benefited from the rise of like macro things that maybe couldn't plan, but like one black panther, right? Black Panther, like reignited people's curiosity about Africa and maybe in a way in which, they hadn't thought of before you look at things like the year of return in Ghana in 2019 and this bridge or this desire to have a bridge between black Americans in the United States and you know, people in Ghana.[00:11:18] And I think all those like, factors made people, got people excited and got excited in a way that his music just set the stage. If you came to Ghana in 2019, you were gonna hear br boy and people were gonna take it back, right? [00:11:33] Denisha Kuhlor: Davido said it best. He said, you know, Afrobeats will succeed because in America, everybody has one African friendand whether you realize it or not, like, you are exposed in some way, and I think as people's proximity changed and curiosity about each other and where people are from grew, especially as it relates to Africa, he really benefited from that. [00:11:56] Dan Runcie: That makes sense. That makes sense. And I think the other thing too, that I think about for him this year, he of course has the huge stadium show in London, but he's also coming back to Coachella and very famously back to Coachella after being quite upset in 2019 about the size of his name on that Coachella poster. And this day, this year, this time around, his name is much bigger. Still not a but I'd be curious know what you think, like how he must have felt about that process. Was there some level of buy-in? Because I could see at his level him thinking that, okay, I'm a superstar. I should be a headliner. But if they're now putting him on that second line right under the headliner, then how that may affect him. Obviously it's still great placement, but. Yeah.[00:12:45] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. You know, it's interesting and I remember when that happened and in some ways I think it probably helped his brand and really showed like it was a testament to the type of artist that he desired to be. I do, you know, think it's interesting because you do see within Africa stars that are huge, right?[00:13:04] And maybe they're numbers, quantitatively don't show up on the Spotify charts, they're on YouTube or they're on other platforms. there's still quite of downloading, that exists within just Africa as a whole. So sometimes we don't necessarily see an artist as set the way we would, maybe with an artist in the States or with a huge listenership in the States, from a charts perspective or immediately.[00:13:27] But I will say is I think it was interesting, him being so vocal in the approach he took, I think a lot of, Ayra Starr did a documentary for Spotify and she's quite big, especially within West Africa. And she talked about touring in the United States for the first time, and she basically said that she viewed it as an opportunity to make someone her fan, right?[00:13:48] Like, just by someone attending her show, her goal was to convert them into a fan. Whereas, Burna definitely takes the approach of, "you should either already be one or recognize my fan base for what they are." I think in his case he's lucky cuz he's been able to back it up. especially when you look at Coachella to now.[00:14:09] but definitely a, an approach that's consistent with his brand. [00:14:14] Dan Runcie: Right? Because I think that part of it too is there's clearly a western skew for a festival like Coachella. I know that when Burna had complained back in 2019 about where he was, people had shown where Kendrick Lamar was, I think it was 2012, and how small his name was compared to him being a headliner several years later.[00:14:35] Denisha Kuhlor: The difference there though is that Kendrick Lamar is from Compton, which is which is driving distance to Indio, California where Coachella is, versus Burna boy may have numbers, may have the base, it's is that base, if they're not a strong contention of them in the in Southern California, are they going to be able to get there?[00:14:58] And I do think that the fact that he is, you know, second because this year you're headliners, unless someone pulls out, you never know what happens. But, right now your headliners are Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny, and Black Pink. So he's, you know, just under there. So you never know what could happen. Things shift all the time, but I assume if based on his placement, it must be a pretty decent size bag as well.[00:15:21] At least I know for the headliners, the last I checked a few years ago, they were getting paid 4 million per weekend, which totaled 8 million total. so that's what I would assume the payday would be for, Bunny, Black Pink and Frank Ocean, but then that next row down probably isn't too far below that.[00:15:40] I mean, I'm sure it is less money, but I don't know how much less.[00:15:43] Sure. Yeah. Yeah. And when you look at like negotiating from just a hard tickets perspective, in terms of what he's been able to drive from last year alone, he definitely had some strong leverage from a negotiating standpoint.[00:15:57] Dan Runcie: definitely. And with someone like him too. I know that we've talked a lot about artists and how they're able to develop true fandom, and I think true fandom is the people that are showing up at your. Concerts and they know the words of everything and not just singing the TikTok part that goes viral that we've seen from whether it's many artists that have experienced that, that have had TikTok hits that have blown up.[00:16:24] How do you think that impacts someone like Burna boy, I don't necessarily feel like he is making music, quote unquote for TikTok. I know a lot of the stuff that blows up their artists don't have any control over, but how do you think that skews, like how do you think that soc or short form video has played a factor, if at all, in his career and his rise?[00:16:44] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, I think a few ways, one, touring, right? I think people want to go to a Bea boy show even if they haven't seen him before or only know a few songs. So I think it's definitely been really, really helpful there. I don't know how many, people know, like the story behind Ye, one of his breakout hits, but like SEO just like really helped him.[00:17:05] So he had the song, Ye. It was already uploaded to streaming platforms, and then Kanye came out with his album. . And so a lot of folks search for Kanye's album, but his, was still like ranking pretty high on Spotify. They actually released a video that that day or around that time thinking, thinking Kanye, for, for the album name.[00:17:25] So I do think in, this is what's so interesting. He's very true to himself in the sense that he's definitely not an artist that like hopped on those trends, right? Like TikTok is not really potentially his thing. he's not gonna be doing any TikTok dances, so he's still been authentic to himself. While I think galvanizing his fans or letting his fans know, he appreciates their effort and I believe his fans look at it more so it as like, let's spread this message, regardless of his participation.[00:17:58] That's something I always get from his fans specifically, it seems like you have different artists, with fan bases. Like the Barbz need Nicki to participate, they want Nicki to participate, right? [00:18:09] Whereas Burna fans, I feel like they do their own thing. They know the temperament of the artists and what he likes to do, and so they don't, they're not really like rushing for him to, adopt maybe some of those technique. [00:18:23] Dan Runcie: And that's an interesting breakdown. Do you think that any of that is compared to where the artist is from or just the nature of their fans? Thinking specifically about the Barbz versus Burna Boy's fans.[00:18:37] Denisha Kuhlor: Mm. that is interesting. You know, I can't say with certainty, but what I will say and as I've spent more time in Ghana is that there's a level of familiarity. I find, past, maybe, I don't know what it is, but past like, experiences that maybe invoke a certain socioeconomic status. There's a level of familiarity, that you'll find these artists like I've definitely maybe seen, or you can be in spaces with so many of these artists just casually like going to a restaurant or, you know, like you living your.[00:19:16] And, I do think that invokes a certain sense of familiarity in which fame is perceived differently here. like in Ghana specifically, you see a lot of, a lot of artists here with very little to know security. just like really doing regular things. it's very different, whereas the fame is more sensationalized it feels, in the states, like you can be in the club with Burna, he's walking up and there's not gonna be the, oh my god, Burna, like that kind of thing. It's very different in that way. So maybe that wouldn't really add much, at least to his core or his home base fans, because that familiarity is there. [00:19:56] Dan Runcie: Yeah, it feels a bit the closest thing that I would. You have in the US is Atlanta, where you would have the artists that are at the mall or you see them walking around and stuff. And it isn't necessarily the same level of frenzy, although that may be a little bit different now, but in like, you know, the nineties, two thousands, you would see them a bit more.[00:20:17] And I think there was a bit more of that vibe that felt a bit more natural like, you know, you go to Magic City or something like that and you would see someone. I think the other thing that is distinctive too with the US fans versus maybe some of the fans, others, is that online, I think you do see a bit more of that hive behavior, specifically from a group like the Barbz, where I think there's almost a falsification to them.[00:20:45] Denisha Kuhlor: And in that, I mean the reactiveness to the other side and what they're saying, and there's almost the galvanization of that and how the barbs can galvanize in Cardi B take down, or a snide comment of someone trying to come at Nicki in a way, but they that bit of catalyst to feel galvanized.You know what's interesting? I do find it that I do think that Burna fans and maybe the big three, so for folks listening, within Africa, the big threes typically referred to as DeVito, Burna boy and Whiz Kids. So they all have their, various fan bases. And the only time I really feel like that's activated.[00:21:27] Seeing how their artists are doing in the West and comparing. Right. So, you know, obviously with Burna winning the Grammy, but and I talked to you about this, like his, Madison Square garden numbers were quite contested. Like if you actually look at the Twitter account that shares,ticketing information. That one was like retweeted so many times because it was the fan bases going back and forth.[00:21:50] Like he actually did sell out MSG versus didn't he? So it's very interesting because while, you know, in some ways like his hyper localized approach in terms of the themes of his music is what's propelling him on the world stage. I do think these fan bases are very curious to see just how well they're doing and they use that as the point of comparison, as it relates to other African artist. [00:22:13] Dan Runcie: Wait, what was the contention that the fans had about the MSG sellout?[00:22:18] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, so there were a few things. One, they felt like there weren't enough seats available. [00:22:23] Dan Runcie: Oh, you did tell me about this. [00:22:25] Denisha Kuhlor: True . Yeah. Like it was a true sellout. And, at first folks didn't believe that he had sold it out. So, it's also interesting with fan bases because you're now seeing like novice or people, fans knew to wanting to understand how the industry works and also wanting to dig into what that means. But that, I think gave the confirmation that he did sell it out,and led to other fan base battles over the discrepancies. [00:22:56] Dan Runcie: Right? Yeah. Cuz you and I talked about this. It isn't like if someone just books like a music hall or a House of blues, purpose of that is for music venue. So the capacity's listed as the capacity, but for some of these sports venues, it could be very different because artists have such different set pieces and stage and production and you don't wanna perform with your back to people like yyou're gonna be different places. So [00:23:18] Denisha Kuhlor: Exactly. [00:23:18] Dan Runcie: You can't compare the sellout for a Knick's playoff game capacity and be like, oh, well that had more people than Burna Boy's selling out MSG. It's like, it [00:23:27] Denisha Kuhlor: Exactly. And that was a lot of, the conversation, which I thought was so interesting. But I also think it it came about because of how he branded it, right? One Night in Space was the name of that. It wasn't part of a tour, anything, it was just one night in space. And so there were gonna be a lot of eyes on that event, regardless.[00:23:48] Dan Runcie: Yeah, and you know, people always try to poke holes when they see something that surprises them that they probably wouldn't have, you know, seen otherwise.[00:23:57] So we've talked a lot about the things that Burna Boy's done well, how he's got to this point. Do you think there's any missed opportunities so far at this point in his career or anything that you've looked back on and be like, huh, I wonder if he did that differently, or even things that he may be doing after?[00:24:11] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, so, I obviously have a company around fan engagement, so some of the fan engagement has been interesting. I will say, one thing that's been, very pleasant for me has been some of his intentionality around connecting deeper with his fans this last album he did host quite a few meet and greets, and had people bring their albums or you know, even bring their kids and like that kind of thing.[00:24:37] I felt like he was really like seeing and touching people, which is something that in the past it didn't really seem like maybe he was open to or necessarily had the appetite for. So that was nice to see. It sounds like, or at least for me, the professionalism when it came to One Night in Space was also great. [00:24:56] the show started on time, ended on time. Can't necessarily say the same for some of his shows within Africa. And that can be due to a host of reasons, but it definitely does lead to, maybe folks will get different experiences. And that's what's so tricky in some ways about artists, in supporting artists.[00:25:16] He's also headlined Afro Nation, Afro Nation, Puerto Rico. They've pulled out the day before and he was replaced with Rick Ross, which upset a lot of fans. So, I say all that to say, I think. It's a Burna Boy production or Burna Boy affair. it seems like everything is phenomenal. and just A- plus end to end when there are other stakeholders.[00:25:41] The process doesn't always seem as smooth, at least for the end user experience, for the fan. so I, I think it sometimes becomes a question of like are we going to continue to pursue some of these opportunities with other stakeholders, whether that's festivals or, just some of these other events, right?[00:26:00] Denisha Kuhlor: Or are we going to take the bulk of our production or the bulk of our events or how a fan can interact with me from a live performance standpoint in-house, and control the end-to-end experience that way.[00:26:13] Dan Runcie: Yeah. And I do think that this strength weakness here lines up with the things that we're saying before, right? If he's someone that wants to be the lead, you wanna be the focus. You're gonna put more energy into the Burna Boy Productions and you may take a slight at things that are not that right. And I think it's unfortunate if some of that distribution skews between the things you do outside of Africa are the things you do in the Western world that do buttoned up, but then when you're back home it has less energy, less focus because yeah, your day one fans of your stans are gonna feel like, okay, well now that he's stadium status, what do we get?[00:26:52] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. and in fairness, you know, some of that is probably, you know, thanks to the regulation, like there is no coming on at 2:00 AM at MSG. Like they will set everyone home. You'll not be allowed to perform. they will charge you a fine. so there's also I think just some of the like, again, the standards upheld within these ecosystems.[00:27:12] But it breeds a dynamic that it's unfortunate and I think is happening just overall where consumers are privy to this at this experience. As a fan that goes to see a show, I don't really wanna hear the promoter and technical issues and like production. I paid my money, I took my money to see this artist.[00:27:35] So, now the fact that fans are being so exposed in a lot of ways to all the elements behind these things, not only are making them more sophisticated consumers, in deciding whether to patronize you again, but it's taking away some of the magic that was entertainment and like show business. [00:27:54] Dan Runcie: Yeah. I do think that for someone like him specifically, it is important to work on how could this product be the best that it can be? Whether you are doing it at home, whether you're doing it elsewhere, and obviously knowing where you're doing it elsewhere, you're involved with other productions, there's things that are gonna be outta your control.[00:28:13] And I know it's asking someone that is naturally more focused on putting more into the things they have more control into to still bring that same energy elsewhere. But hopefully, I'm sure that he wants to be eventually a headliner at a Coachella or a Glastonbury. I'm to do other stadium shows as well. That'll actually go to the next thing that I'll ask you, I think that if that's the goal, then some of that energy has to con continue there. So, two questions here, this is a two-parter. So the first one, obviously London is the first. Well, I don't wanna say the first, but at least it's the one of the biggest stages that he has had himself.[00:28:51] I think, you know, we'll see how many tickets end up being sold. I assume it'll probably be at least like 60,000 or so, just given the size of that place. But where do you think, if you could project where the next stadium shows would be based on his fan base, based on what you know, where do you think those would I would say Texas , somewhere in, Texas. I mean, Dallas and Houston have some of the biggest African populations, within the United States. And so when I think about that, not only do they have African, you know, or they're first gen or immigrant populations, but a lot of people have also been exposed just by proximity.[00:29:31] So I think, yeah, I think it would be either Houston or Dallas. Definitely somewhere in the States, I do think he could do somewhere else in Europe, but if looking at the data really does concentrate, at least in London and with the disposable income, I think that would allow for a show like that, for a show like that to be successful. Another thing about Burna that's interesting is, he's been touring. So a lot of these fans, you hadn't seen him two years ago. You definitely have had your opportunity to see him now. even when I think about, by the time I saw him at Madison Square Garden, I could have seen him at Afropunk right in New York as well.[00:30:14] He did summer or he was supposed to do Summer Jam. So there were like multiple opportunities, even just within New York to see him. So I wonder though, before he does that. There will be a bit of a, break, or at least new music so that the consumer feels like they're seeing something. [00:30:31] Dan Runcie: What about Paris?[00:30:32] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. So Paris is a really interesting market. He has a ton of fans in Paris and I talk to them quite often. I don't know though. I, I don't know if a stadium show can work there just yet. And part of the reason is because I do think that the market rewards in some ways, , those who try.[00:30:53] And while he's done a ton of podcasts, a ton of interviews, a ton of things, I can't say how much he's actually interacted with, you know, some of the French press andsome of the opportunities there. He did do something really cool, recently or, yeah, not too recently. where he did a like deep cuts performance for 300 fans and he just announced it on Twitter and folks got to go.[00:31:19] So I think he can work up to it just quantitatively. It might take longer than other markets.[00:31:27] Dan Runcie: Yeah, Paris was one that had in mind I think, those things you mentioned make sense. New York was another one too. Just given that MSG show and you have the MetLife stadium, I feel like like that could eventually happen.[00:31:39] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. Yeah. I think New York makes a lot of sense. It's pretty close to, obviously, you know, DC and Virginia, which also have big African populations. New Yorkers have seen him and know, someone who attended the MSG show. I really felt like there was like a sense of pride, like folks were really excited to be there, and to see this. And it definitely makes you feel like in events. And one that you could partake in multiple times for sure.[00:32:07] Dan Runcie: Right. And two, with this, we talked about his missed opportunities, but what do you think about the best opportunity or the best move that he has made so far in his career?[00:32:20] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, I think one consistency. He's been pretty consistent about releasing new music, whether it came to the album that he released during COVID, as well as his latest album now. There's definitely a strategy, I think, of always being focused or always looking ahead or being able to see what's next.[00:32:40] And so he's been able to use consistency through his own music, but also relevancy by jumping onto trends that are new, whether it's or not new. I feel like the Ima piano folks are gonna come at me for that. But,whether it's Amapiano, right? or Asake who really brought a new sound for folks.[00:32:59] So I think he's been able to do that really well. I think it was really intentional of his team. We've gotten to see, and not to compare Burna Boy to Ice Spice, but as consumers, I think so often, we see folks, do really well as a result of a breakout hit and have these expectations of them that don't necessarily correlate.[00:33:23] And it's actually been really great to watch an artist like Ice Spice or even a Little Nas X kind of come into their own when it comes to their performance and stage play overall. Whereas with him, I think he really got to build that methodically and, and over time, get comfortable on stage, see what works, what doesn't work, figure out the kinks of working with the band.[00:33:44] And so he's really, really been able to perfect and invest in his live show, which we're seeing dividends on now, while also maintaining just the consistency of new music and relevancy, which is quite d [00:33:57] Dan Runcie: Yeah, I think the Ice Spice is interesting because I was talking to someone about this a couple days ago and she had just put out her project, and I think it may be sold around like 15,000 units. And that of course sparked some discussion. And the thing is, it's hard to even frame something like that as a negative because six months ago, most of you didn't even know who this was, if we're [00:34:23] So we have the nature of the internet being able to help someone skyrocket into a different level. Almost overnight, and then just realizing that her team, everyone else has to catch up. It's a very different situation, like where Burna Boy is showing you that, yeah, it takes time to get to this point.[00:34:42] I mean, if he starts really releasing music, you know, early 2010s. By 2017, still doing small venues in New York. And then it really until, you know, a couple years later where you're being able to hit that. If you even get to that point, it's so hard. And I do think that live performances in the honest you command is one of the few things that can't quote unquote blow up overnight and it's, if anything is the more humbling thing that we see. I think streams can be somewhat humbling to some extent, as you've seen, but even that can be misleading. So it does at least ring true, and I think for me, I'd spoke about this earlier, but the thing about his career that I think is the best move for him was just continuing to position himself as the lead and not necessarily, you know, following the latest trend just to hop on it. Although I think he was smart about things, but not just trying to attach himself. I think he still had the brand there and it took longer than some may have, you know, wanted, or maybe even he saw himself, especially, I can only imagine, you know, it's 2015, you're doing this for a few years, things still bubbling.[00:35:53] So I do think that worked to his advantage cuz now it's really only a handful of artists globally that can say they're in that position. And then really his whole continent, you know, of the big three is at least the one that has the most exposure and platform in base right now.[00:36:09] Denisha Kuhlor: What did you think of? I feel his choice to embrace Artis from the west like his last two or three really, his last maybe three albums, you see like a really conscientious approach, whether he's had everyone from YG to Keilani, had Diddy executive produce an album, and that felt really intentional to reach, listenership or an audience from the westlike you said, it's probably tricky like if that went wrong, it could have really went wrong but in his case it seemed to go right, but I'm curious what you thought that. [00:36:43] Dan Runcie: Yeah. I think part of the reason why it worked is like, I feel like he picked artists that felt somewhat aligned with like what he was doing too like I, at least from what I read, I think the YG track may have potentially would've involved Nipsey, but you know, Nipsey had passed, so like that didn't work.[00:36:58] It's not as if he was just hopping on, you know, who is the hot single that like needs someone or like, you know, the Drake or whoever else. And not that I think with Drake is an issue, but because obviously is done and then Bad Bunny's continue to grow. But I feel like because he's like picking certain artists and maybe not every pick I necessarily, you know, thought was like his best music, but there seemed to be a ality with people that like lined up with him where it's like, okay, I've listened to enough why G'S music over the years?[00:37:28] I could see why someone like Burna Boy would want to do music with him, right? So I feel like for me, that piece of it did line up and I know that if you're trying to grow there, there's some inevitable push of who can I align myself with that isn't just trying to do the generic pop thing. Like I don't think I would ever hear him beyond a Maroon Five song, which I do feel kind of becomes like a bit of a rite of passage for a lot of, Western hop artists.[00:37:57] But I'd be very surprised if I ever saw Burna Boy.[00:38:01] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. No, that makes sense. That makes sense. [00:38:03] Dan Runcie: Yeah. the other thing that I think this conversation taps into is just the broader growth and the broader expansion of record labels and infrastructure in Africa from what the music industry to do and how Burna Boy's been able to help. In many ways, not just, I don't wanna say necessarily lead that because I think he's did a lot of this without the infrastructure.[00:38:26] If anything, the infrastructure has kind of started to come as a result of what he's done. But I've also heard a few rumblings from different folks that some of the investments of certain record labels, some of the majors having offices there, there's been questions about how they're seeing what's viable, what makes sense now because some of the artists that blew up, they don't have those artists on those labels, so now they're trying to find the next person and they're realizing that really hard to do that.[00:38:55] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah. You know what's interesting, and I thought a lot about this is I feel like most artists on the continent don't necessarily need help on the continent. So much to our point of thinking about like Coachella, that was so surprising to Burna Boy because he was a huge star within Africa.[00:39:11] and when you look at the labels, he's engaged, for like a more global expansion. The thing I think he's been very clear of and his mother and the rest of his team is that like they've got Africa covered. And so I do think that could be part of the reason why maybe some of these labels are struggling because in a way it probably makes sense or the hunches to put more money or investment into what's already working, which is within Africa. When in reality I think it, it forces you to start to iterate and experiment on what's gonna resonate in terms of an artist, fans, an artist who has fans abroad, or them starting to build their broad audience.[00:39:53] And while an African audience it probably validates a lot of things, right? Maybe stage, presence, charisma, ability to connect, that the music is global or can reach people like it, that change or that shift. now being in the states or being in Europe is also quite different as well.[00:40:11] Denisha Kuhlor: And I think it forces labels to take a true A and R approach, whether it comes to everything from media training, Interacting, there's cultural differences. And so, I think it's going to lead way to maybe a new type of executive. it's something I thought a lot about music programs like the Music Business Academy,in Africa.[00:40:33] That's done really, really amazing work. I continue to be really, really impressed with the folks at Maven. And what their talent is doing, I think, for the African music ecosystem. But, with that being said, I think that the ecosystem is still getting to the point. where it's maturing, but also maturing in a way where folks can capitalize not only on the talent from the ecosystem, within Africa, but there being true connections, going both ways, because that's ultimately where the label will be able to recognize their power.[00:41:05] But for an artist that is already successful in some ways already getting Booked for shows. You look at, you know, where Tua Savage was by the time she got signed, or a DeVito by the time, he got signed abroad, they're already huge stars, which in some ways is different than what labels are used to signing in the States.[00:41:27] They, you know, would either find an artist and before invest the development in them or find an artist who's had maybe success digitally, but are working with them, on some of their more physical initiatives. So, I think it's interesting, but I also think it's a bit of a, different framework or thinking that some of these labels need to do in terms of the true maturity of the talent at the time they're being signed in some cases.[00:41:52] Dan Runcie: Yeah. When I heard rumblings that some of these record label offices that had recently started in Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa, that they were starting to question some of the future and the growth and things, I honestly wasn't that surprised because if you look at the way the record labels work in the US and at least currently they're working cause.[00:42:16] you have the Drake's and you have the Taylor's and the Adele's and Beyonces, and you've given them more favorable deals. But knowing that even if they more favorable deal, whatever share you get of that is still gonna make up for more than everything else. And that's gonna help your strategy in so many other ways.[00:42:33] Versus you're starting from scratch in a landscape where it's already harder to like develop someone from the ground up. And you're starting that without the Burna Boy without DeVito or without them, and now you're trying to find that person and you're trying to, you know, still do the investment. It's tough to get there because it took these folks so many years to get to that point.[00:42:55] So if you didn't start like a 10 year time horizon and you're have a bit of that, you know, more of a standard, okay, what has this person done for me lately? Do we keep this artist? Do we drop them? It isn't going to work in the same way. And we saw some of those same challenges, not even to this level happen.[00:43:12] 20 years ago when there were so many artists from Jamaica that were starting to blow up when reggae and reggae Fusion was really starting to be the wave when Sean Paul was doing his thing, and we didn't even get to that point where they were even trying to start the record label. There were issues with visas Yeah. Yes, and all. [00:43:31] Denisha Kuhlor: It doesn't just transfer. That's, you know, that's such a great point. Like I think in some ways people expect the success in the continent to like transfer almost smoothly when in reality a new type of work is just beginning. And that's the type of work that, you know, when you think about the office, the big office is looking for, right?[00:43:51] Because that's gonna produce quantitatively what they wanna see. and so in a way it can feel discouraging because you're like, wow, I have this artist, they've done this, this, and this. They're getting booked for shows here. Now we're going to Europe and we can't do a 500 person venue, but we just did a 5,001.[00:44:06] Dan Runcie: Yeah, it's gonna be fascinating to see how this develops, but before we close things out though, let's say five years from now, 2028, where's Burna Boy in his career, right? At that point, what is he doing?[00:44:18] Denisha Kuhlor: Yeah, I really, you know, I call it like a bit of the Jay-Z effect, but in some ways I see that for him, one clearly has an ear, not only for like developing talent, but also emerging talent, from, you know, a feature to Bnxn who assigned onto his label, but ended up not staying ended to, ask to leave the label, which I think is very interesting.[00:44:40] So I kind of wanna see if he focuses or hones more on also like developing talent innately his sister's also the creative director for his brand. I think too, we'll also will also see him play a role where he does a lot of fun things around fan engagements. he talked about in an interview that he's performed at so many venues and gotten to travel the world. And so he wants to take a really exciting approach in like performing on a train or kind of doing all these other like, cool fan experiences. So hopefully will he'll start to experiment with that as well.[00:45:20] Denisha Kuhlor: And it'd be interesting, but I think he might have the potential to be a really high touring artist for a long time. We see some artists that are just like, they can go on tour. It feels whenever they want, regardless of whether they have new music or not. And to some extent, I think that he just might be an artist that can command that.[00:45:42] and this has, you know, everybody's talking about, everybody's talking about catalogs nowadays, but as you think about how digitally Native Africa is, how young the population is. I'll be curious to see if he gets an offer he can't refuse. on the catalog side, there's more and more, places invest in content within Africa.[00:46:02] Denisha Kuhlor: It's only gonna increase, syncs the power of nostalgia as well. . Well, my hunch would be that he wouldn't sell, it wouldn't surprise me if we also saw him really structuring his business or his brand in, a way, that commands a high catalog price as well. [00:46:19] Dan Runcie: Yeah, when you're one of the biggest ones in this like wave and you're really reaching the height that others haven't reached before, you do have a bit of that advantage, right? Are able to this rise in a number of ways. So it's gonna be fascinating. I'm excited feel like at a minimum, what headline in Glastonbury feels like an inevitable thing, just given with things.[00:46:39] So yeah, I am eager to see how this all plays out. And who knows, maybe he'll be at Coachella again, and maybe he'll have the headline spot and at that point there's nowhere else to, you know, complain. Maybe we'll just have Burna Boy hyphen the African Giant and that'll be what's on the poster,[00:46:56] Denisha Kuhlor: Yes, I can literally see like just the African giants. I think that would be just such a moment, in the funniest way, like very reminiscent of Jay-Z, Jay-Z at Glastonbury, no. Yeah, it would be cool to see that all come full circle.[00:47:10] Dan Runcie: Definitely. Well, Denisha, this was awesome. Thanks again for making the time and making this happen[00:47:16] Denisha Kuhlor: Thanks so much for having me.[00:47:17] Dan Runcie: If you enjoyed this podcast, go ahead and share it with a friend. Copy the link, text it to a friend, post it in your group chat. Post it in your Slack groups. Wherever you and your people talk, spread the word. That's how capital continues to grow and continues to reach the right people. And while you're at it, if you use Apple Podcast, go ahead.[00:47:38] Rate the podcast, give it a high rating, and leave a review. Tell people why you like the podcast. That helps more people. Discover the show. Thank you in advance. Talk to you next week.

Can the polished Bronx Bombers hold off the upstart Whiz Kids? Music: Last Stand - Purple Planet Music

Death of Mike Leach, Braves give up a load for catcher, Last of the Whiz Kids, is Marcus Mariota a quitter on top of being a mediocre QB, NFL still full of it regarding concussions, NBA hates the Hawks & Hawks fans, Messi game at World Cup, what really killed Grant Wahl, biting a fellow fan's finger off, Pete's Tweets, This Day in Sports History. Come for what Leach meant to CFB, stay for full breakdown of Sean Murphy trade & playing ping pong underwater. petedavis.buzzsprout.com 

Andrew Guerdat joins me to talk about growing up in Birmingham, Alabama; loving cowboy shows; Andy Griffith; Ed Scharlach teaches comedy writing and introduces him to his partner Stuart Kreinberg; MASH script got them representation; wrote an episode of The Jeffersons that turns up in the background of Basic Instinct; writing an episode of the forgettable comedy Me and Maxx; moving to Mork & Mindy; ABC ruined a hit by adding too many characters; Robin shoots a scene, does improv, shoots a scene, does improv; all lines were written; particular favorite episode "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy"; moving to Archie Bunker's Place; silly vs grounded comedy; pitching to Carroll O'Connor; Denise Miller; Celeste Holm; Anne Meara; writing the controversial episode "The Red Herring"; "Death of a Lodger" with Don Rickles; "Bunker Madness"; Whiz Kids and McGruder & Loud allowed him to work while sitcoms "were dead"; streaming allows his daughter to find a Sister, Sister she was in in minutes; It's A Living; Paul Kreppel; Marian Mercer; Richard Staahl; TV movie "Dance 'Til Dawn"; Head of the Class hard because cast was too large but smart in that it taught a fact every week; 5th season adding Billy Connolly; "Dead Men Don't Wear Pocket Protectors" - Arvid brings a gun to school; Brian Robbins; Rain Pryor; gets a job running Saved by the Bell: The College Years after never seeing original; tries to grow it up and and is told not to; tapings are out of control; idea for Herman's Head comes to Andrew and his partner in 1983; having it be picked up in 1991 and not allowed to really be involved; how finished product, while funny, was not what he and partner intended; the similarities between "Inside Out" and Herman's Head; Empty Nest; Richard Mulligan allows supporting cast to get the laughs; writing for The Parent 'Hood and Boy Meets World; transitioning to animation with The World of Tosh; Higglytown Heroes; Sherriff Callie's Wild Wild West; Paw Patrol

On Episode 103 of the RETROZEST podcast, Curtis speaks with '80s TikTok Sensation JORDAN RUMSEY! Although Jordan is 19 years old, she is a huge fan of the 1980s, and has become a viral sensation via her TikTok profile (over 199K followers); she also has a large following on her Instagram account! Jordan talks about her love for music from Samantha Fox, Belinda Carlisle, Joan Jett and Pat Benatar; as well as her fandom of Matthew Laborteaux, '80s Slasher Films, Alf and Whiz Kids. Also, she's probably the youngest listener of Chris Cooling's Forgotten TV Podcast (a favorite of Curtis' as well)! Additionally, Mr. Retrovere shares this week's Retro News segment. Please check out Jordan's storefronts on Etsy, BigCartel, Galaxy, and Depop! All of these can be found HERE as well. Incidentally, you may help the RetroZest Podcast by purchasing a Celebrity Video Message gift for a friend/family member from CelebVM! Choose from celebrities like Barry Williams, Gary Busey, Ernie Hudson, Robert Fripp, Right Said Fred, etc.! Simply enter their website through our portal at store.retrozest.com/celebvm, and shop as you normally would; it's no extra cost to you at all! Contact Curtis at podcast@retrozest.com, or via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Also, check us out on TikTok!

Aquesta setmana portem un grapat de nostàlgia. Parlem de Masters of the Universe: Revelation, la sèrie d’animació produïda per Kevin Smith, que continua la sèrie de Filmation dels anys vuitanta. Comentarem la producció, el doblatge, el tractament de He-Man, Skeletor, Teela, Evil-Lyn i la resta de personatges, la banda sonora, els millors moments i també de la línia de joguines de Mattel. Avui obrim les portes d’Eternia. A 1 hora 17 minuts, ressenyem sense espòilers The Tender Bar, la darrera pel·lícula de George Clooney que protagonitza Ben Affeck. Tanquem a 1 hora 35 minuts amb més nostàlgia. Parlem Big Bang Comics, la línia de còmics que s’emmiralla en clàssics del gènere de superherois. En parlem amb el guionista de Knights of Justice i Whiz Kids, Pedro Angosto. Us acompanyen l’Ignasi Arbat, en Paco Cavero, en David Callahan Ruiz i la Marta Sanz. Web: https://www.ningunoesperfecte.cat/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ningunoesperfecte

Bubba Church pitched two thirds of an inning for the Phillies after getting blasted in the face. Erv Palica pitched a whole game for the Dodgers with the reputation of a hypochondriac. September 24, 1950 was a battle of wills at Shibe Park, and the result was the Whiz Kids' worst game of the season, but at least they weren't the "Blue Jays" anymore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This time on the show the guys talk about gray chest hair and spontaneously exploding buildings. The post Gray Chest Hair And Exploding Houses! – The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 757 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

What happens when you combine two of the biggest brands of the early 1980s? You get RadioShack's TRS-80 Whiz Kids comics, with special guest stars from the DC Universe. Marvel at snarky teens sassing the Man of Steel, then laugh at how he makes them perform complex math with mediocre computers! ----more---- Episode 16 Transcript Mike: [00:00:00] I used to go into an office, and when I did that, I had a dog that everybody loved and I baked cookies every day. Hello, hello, hello, welcome to Ten Cent Takes, the podcast where we sell out as superheroes, one issue at a time. My name is Mike Thompson and I am joined by my co-host, the talk show host of terror, Jessika Frazer. Jessika: Bwahahaha! I like when you give me nicknames that are a little mischievous and/or villainous, by the way. Mike: I mean, villains are always the most fun. Jessika: They really are. They get to do all the cool shit.  Mike: Yeah. You need a strong villain in order to have a good story. Jessika: Absolutely.  Mike: The purpose of this podcast is to look at notable moments in comic book history. [00:01:00] They can be big or they can be small, but we always hope that they're interesting, and we like to talk about them in ways that are both fun and informative. Today, we are going to be going back back back to the eighties and talking about the time that Superman sold computers for Radio Shack. Jessika: Fucking sellout.  Mike: Man, I don't. Can you blame him though? I mean, he was a reporter, like he needed the extra cash. Jessika: That's true. That does not pay all that much, from my understanding  Mike: Uh, speaking as someone who worked as a journalist for a decade, I can tell you it does not.  Jessika: Confirmed, everyone.  Mike: Confirmed. Before you freak out and think that you've missed an episode or that things are airing out of order, we are actually still doing the Sandman book club series, but we have decided to break it up, so it's not just one giant slog for people who aren't interested in Sandman. So that way there's a little something for [00:02:00] everybody, even as we're doing that prolonged experience. So every other episode will be the Sandman book club. Before we get to that though. What is one cool thing that you have read or watched recently? Jessika: Just last night, I watched the first episode of the Amazon Prime, let me just say it's 18+, animated series, Invincible.  Mike: Hmm.  Jessika: Have you seen that yet?  Mike: I haven't, I read the comic for a while and I really liked it, but then it just kind of felt very repetitive. And also, I didn't like how the comic got very women in refrigerator-y. Jessika: Oh, okay, fair enough.  Mike: Like yeah. Um, I hear it's great. I just, it's kind of, it's kind of like The Boys where like, I read the comic and, and then when they announced they were making a TV [00:03:00] show, I went, eh don't know. I like, I'm not sure. I really want to see that translated to the screen and then it was great. And so I'm sure that Invisible will be great. Jessika: I will be talking about The Boys later, in fact.  Mike: Oh okay. Well, then. Jessika: But for now, yeah, I know, spoilers. So for those of you who hadn't seen it yet, it's about a teenage boy whose father is a famous superhero and the kid himself has also potentially expected to get powers, which he, not spoiling anything, he does, and very early on in this episode. And when this happens, his father starts teaching them how to use them properly, even though he seems a little disappointed, even, that his really did have powers, which was kind of strange, but we'll see where that goes. But what I really liked about this series, is that they make fun of our well-known superheroes with a character like Batman and one that's very much like Wonder Woman, et cetera. And again, I don't want to give too much away, but the ending is [00:04:00] super intense, and I'll definitely be watching more of it tonight after we've finished recording this.  Mike: Yeah. And I will say that the comic itself has moments that are shockingly intense too. And it's really interesting because there are these moments that feel very wholesome and playful, and then there are other scenes that are complete 180 and it's really, it's kind of whiplash.  Jessika: That was how it felt in the show as well. So I mean, that translated definitely.  Mike: Yeah, it's one thing that's actually really neat is that it's the guy who wrote the comic, Robert Kirkman, is also the guy who created the walking dead.  Jessika: Hm.  Mike: So, you know, dude knows how to write a hit.  Jessika: Yeah.I guess so, huh. Mike: Yeah. Jessika: Well, what about you? What have you been reading or watching?  Mike: You mentioned a couple of weeks ago that you had read the first issue of a series called Die, by Kieron Gillen.  Jessika: Yeah.  Mike: I'd heard about it. I thought it looked [00:05:00] interesting. And then you mentioning that, threw it back on my radar, and so I found the first three volumes on Hoopla and I wound up bingeing through all of them in a couple of hours. And it's really good. I really like how it matches up a bunch of D & D tropes along with other things. And I just, I really, really enjoyed it. And so I want to say thank you for putting that on my radar. Jessika: Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, absolutely. You're welcome. And I'll have to go on Hoopla and check out more myself because I'd been wanting to, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.  Mike: No, shall we, uh, shall we mosey along?  Jessika: Mosey let's do it.  Mike: What do you remember about Radio Shack when you were growing up? Jessika: Good old Radio Shack. Radio Shack was huge, when I was growing up. It was [00:06:00] definitely a household name and it had a reputation that it carried most electronics related items that you may want or need to purchase. So just on my memory block here in particular, they used to carry a radio that was pretty easy to alter, to be a scanning radio, to use for ghost hunting. And for a while, it was a great cheap alternative to buying something made for that purpose. And it was priced really low and like affordable versus like buying something that was made for that purpose.  Mike: Mm. Jessika: And I've trying to find one of those radios for years now, but honestly, it's probably a dead end at this point, and I should just pony up the money to buy actual ghost hunting equipment. I mean, honestly, I should probably, if I want it, like I'm a full ass adult, I can afford the expensive things, maybe.  Mike: We have credit cards now, Jessika. Jessika: Just charge it.I say I can afford the expensive things, like I really can, which isn't actually true.  Mike: All right.[00:07:00]  Jessika: I can afford the mid-level things.  Mike: Yeah. I dunno. We used to have money and then we got air conditioning, and we're poor now. Jessika: I'm safe. I'm squirreling it away, man. Trying to buy a house, it's expensive.  Mike: Yeah. Especially where we live. Jessika: I don't recommend it. Folks.  Mike: Yeah, no, just. Jessika: Just stay away.  Mike: Yeah. Welcome to the Bay Area. The dystopian capitalist apocalypse. Jessika: Everything is overpriced, and on fire.  Mike: We're not making this up. Everything is literally on fire these days.  And, and over priced, but that's just California in general. Yeah. Well, I mean, I had a similar experience to you, in different ways, but like, you know, it was the same brand awareness of Radio Shack. I didn't realize until I was doing the research for this episode, that Radio Shack is actually a hundred years old [00:08:00] as of this year. Jessika: What? How? Mike: Yeah. It was founded in 1921 by these two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutchman. They set up a mail order business and a single retail location that was focused on providing parts for ham radio, which was a field that was still pretty new back then. And they wound up doing pretty well for a while, but they basically were bankrupt by the early 1960s. But you know, like 40 years is not a bad run. Jessika: Yeah.  Mike: And then they got acquired by the Tandy corporation in 1960 for $300,000. Up until this point, Tandy had been this leather goods company and they were looking to basically get into the business of appealing to hobbyists, which they felt Radio Shack would be able to do. So, in order to do this, Tandy basically performed a complete overhaul of the unprofitable company it had just acquired, and the Wikipedia page has a really solid [00:09:00] summary of what happened. Jessika: Tandy closed Radio Shack's unprofitable mail order business, ended credit purchases, and eliminated many top management positions eating the salespeople, merchandisers and advertisers. The number of items carried was cut from 40,000 to 2,500, as Tandy sought to identify the 20% that represents the 80% of sales and replaced Radio Shacks handful of large stores with many little holes in the wall, large numbers of rented locations, which were easier to close and reopen elsewhere if one location didn't work out.  Mike: Yeah. So basically they were just going for a strategy that made Radio Shack into a much leaner, more nimble operation, which that's like the goal these days, those are kind of the golden buzzwords, but they were actually trying to do that. Charles D. Tandy, who was the guy who actually ran Tandy corporation back then, said that they were [00:10:00] basically not looking for the guy anymore, who wanted to spend his entire paycheck on the sound system, and instead they were looking for customers who wanted to save money by buying cheaper goods and then like improving them through modifications and accessories. So now they were really appealing towards nerds, and aiming at kids who are going to like work on stuff for the science fairs. And honestly it, it worked. I mean, when I was growing up Radio Shack was that store you went to, when you needed some small part a replacement, there was always one nearby. And even if they didn't have a name brand part, they usually had an off-brand version of whatever you needed. And, I never went there thinking that it was going to break the bank. It was always a fairly affordable thing. Jessika: Yeah. Agreed. I can think of like four different locations where they had a Radio Shack, just like in our area here.  Mike: Yeah. And I mean, like, I grew up in San Francisco in the eighties, and they were all over the place.[00:11:00]  So now, what's interesting is that the whole rise of personal computers happened to coincide with this period of success for Radio Shack. The late seventies was when personal computers with microprocessors started to actually be a thing on the consumer market, but typically if you wanted one, you had to build them from a kit. Like you, you physically had to, like, buy the kit and then assemble it, following the instructions, which, I mean, I'm not going to lie. That is terrifying to me. Jessika: That is terrifying. And it's total nerd shit too. They were right.  Mike: Right. Fucking nerds. Jessika: Nerd bait. Mike: Radio Shack actually wound up introducing the TRS 80 in 1977. And it was a game changer for the company because it was one of the first pre-built computers. And it was simultaneously backed by a national retail chain.  It was this super basic computer that sold for $600, which adjusting for inflation is like $2,700 nowadays. [00:12:00]  Jessika: Holy shit. There's no way. There's no way the average family is like, let's get one of those right away. Mike: No, it was, I mean, you know, this was for people who were super enthusiast, or had a lot of disposable income, which the middle-class used to have back then.  Jessika: Different times.  Mike: The salad days. But yeah, so the TRS 80, even though it had a fairly high price point sold like hotcakes, like gangbusters. I found this book and it's called, Priming the Pump: How the TRS 80 Enthusiast Helped Spark the PC Revolution, by Teresa Welsh and David Welsh. It has this really interesting history about that point in time, which, I mean, I'm not going to lie, I was waiting for her to be really dry, but it's full of a lot of really personal stories and anecdotes and it's cool, I really dug it. Basically, when they started manufacturing this computer, they were only expecting to sell 50,000 units. There's this great quote, talking about how [00:13:00] much of a surprise the first TRS computer sales were. Jessika: Both Charles Tandy and John Roach may have been skeptical about such a large. But it turned out to be an underestimation. When the first anniversary of the products came, the company found the, had sold many more than the prediction and taken a whopping 250,000 orders for TRS eighties. Most of them still undelivered. Actually we've seen various numbers in different sources, so we can't verify this number, but they certainly sold considerably more than 50,000. Don French said they received a number of threatening phone calls from people who demanded delivery of their TRS 80 right away. Ooh! Mike: Yeah, so after this huge success, they then ended up following the TRS 80 with the TRS 80 Color in 1980. And basically the first TRS computer was kind of like a full, complete unit with a built-in monitor and everything. [00:14:00] The TRS 80 Color, in turn, was just the computer itself, and then you would plug in a color TV instead of using this built-in monitor. The TRS computers wound up selling well enough that Radio Shack really leaned hard into the computer business, and they even started offering computer camps for pre-teens in the early eighties, which was kind of an extension of that mission that they wanted to appeal to kids who wanted to excel at science fairs, because I mean, you know, those were the new nerds. So if you want to learn more about the TRS computers, by the way, there's this really great site called MatthewReadsTRS80.org. That helped me kind of learn about a lot of this stuff. I'll put it in the show notes, but it's really kind of an interesting walk-through, this particular venue of history. Anyway, this was the high point for Radio Shack, to be perfectly honest. By September of 1982, the company had more than 4,300 stores just in America and [00:15:00] more than 2,000 independent franchises and towns that were not large enough to have a company owned store. So, for comparison, there are fewer GameStops worldwide today than there were Radio Shacks in the early eighties.  Jessika: Wow.  Mike: Like, I realized that GameStop has been having a rough go of it lately, but there's still a lot of them around. Jessika: Yeah. Huh. Mike: And during this period of unmitigated success, that's when the Whizkid's started to show up in comic books. The early eighties were right around the time when computers were starting to get a lot of prominent, you know, quote unquote roles in media. If you're listening to this and you want to learn more, there is a site dedicated to media prominently featuring computers and storylines, and it's called Starring the Computer, that tracks stuff like this all the way back to the fifties. It's an incomplete list, but it's really interesting, and they have a whole section devoted to Tandy computers.[00:16:00] Like, I remember there was an episode of Murder, She Wrote very early on where she moves to New York and there's this whole plot about how she's gotten a computer to write her novels on. And then evidence is falsified with a modem. It's really interesting. And you know, the computer was this suddenly viable object that could play a part in people's everyday lives and could serve as a driving narrative device. But as far as I can tell the first time anyone made comics specifically focusing on educating people about personal computers was when Radio Shack started to do these comic books. And I think that's just because it was such a new thing, especially on the personal consumer market, because, you know, up until recently computers had been these huge things that took up buildings on their own.  Jessika: Yeah. And they had to be, like cooled, professionally, and I mean, it was just this whole thing.  Mike: Yeah. I mean, there [00:17:00] is a movie right now on Disney plus called The Computer That Wore Tennis Shoes.  Jessika: Oh, yeah! Mike: A very early Kurt Russell, and it's one of those things where the whole he's in college and he winds up getting shocked, I think, and there's this whole thing, this computer gets basically downloaded into him. So he has the processing power and knowledge of this computer, but they show you the computer and it like, it is a giant monstrosity of a thing that takes up, I think, an entire lab.  Jessika: It does. I remember that movie. Mike: And I mean, our phones, these days are more powerful than those. So RadioShack started making comics in 1971. They were putting out a series of educational comics called the science fair story of electronics via the Radio Shack education comic book program. But, then in 1980, they pivoted and they started giving away these new comics in stores. You could also, [00:18:00] if you were a teacher, you could send in a request to Radio Shack on school letterhead and get a free pack of 50.  Jessika: Oh, wow. Mike: And yeah, like, you know, they were really pushing that hard because these comics were educational, but they were also advertisements.  Jessika: Very much so. Oh, that was something I messaged you earlier,  was like, wow. I was reading just an ad there, wasn't I?  Mike: But, I mean, I will say they were, they were educational.  Jessika: Yeah, absolutely.  Mike: Yeah, so the Superman Radio Shack giveaway comics starred the aforementioned Whiz Kids, Alec and Shanna, along with their teacher Mrs. Wilson, but for the first three issues, which were published in 1980, 81 and 82, they also starred Superman and other characters from the DC Universe.  Jessika: I need to correct you for a second, because you said Mrs. Wilson, and it definitely was Ms. Wilson.  Mike: Oh, I'm sorry. That's right.  Jessika: It was Ms. Wilson, and I think that will come into play [00:19:00] later.  Mike: That is true. She did not have a ring on her finger. Jessika: She did not. She looked a little close to all the superheroes that waltzed right up in there, half naked into her classroom.  Mike: I mean, can ya blame her? Jessika: No, she was hot too.  Mike: Right? We're going to talk about each of these specific issues, but first up is the Computer That Saved Metropolis, which was published in July of 1980. So, even though this was a promotional giveaway, DC committed some pretty serious talent to the book. The first two issues were written by Cary Bates, who was this long-term writer for DC. He wrote a ton of action comics, Superman, and the New Adventures of Superboy, as well as being the head script writer for the live action Superboy series in the 1980s that we discussed a couple episodes back.  Jessika: Totally. Mike: He also worked as a script writer for various cartoons, including Gem and Gargoyles.  Jessika: Oh, hell yeah.  Mike: Right. [00:20:00] But then also his name might sound familiar to some people listening to the show because we mentioned him on the New Guardians episode where, it turns out he wrote issues two through 12 of the New Guardians. The art for this issue, meanwhile, was handled by Jim Starlin and Dick Giordano. Both of them are pretty big deals too. Starlin became a big name in comics during the seventies. He garnered a lot of acclaim for his cosmic space opera stories. He co-created characters like Shang-Chi and Thanos. Giordano in turn was an artist who had recently come back to DC comics and was serving as the Batman editor at the time. He actually got promoted shortly after this to be the company's managing editor in 1981. And then he was promoted again to executive editor in 83, and then he stayed with the company until the mid nineties when he retired, after his wife died. And then, aside from being a giveaway issue, this comic actually ran as a backup story in the July, 1980 ssues for Action [00:21:00] Comics, Legion of Superheroes, House of Mystery and Superboy. So Superman schilling Radio Shack computers, and forcing children to perform complex math for him, and definitely, probably schtupping Ms. Wilson, like, I think we need to agree that, that those two totally smashed. Jessika: Oh, absolutely. And I have my theories about her and Supergirl as well.  Mike: Yeah. Yeah.  Jessika: They had a moment.  Mike: Right? Jessika: We both took the same picture of that same shot and I sent it to you and you were like, no way. Mike: I thought that was so funny.  Jessika: Don't worry, we'll post that one.  Mike: I, oh God. Like, I just, that was great. It was like great minds think alike. But yeah, all of this is officially a canon part of DC comics lore, which is wild. Like [00:22:00]  Jessika: It's bat shit bananas.  Mike: Yeah. Now weirdly it looks like this is the only issue that actually made it into other DC comics. So, you know, the other two or their own standalone things. And aren't officially cannon, I guess. All right. How would you describe the 1980 issue? The Computers That Saved Metropolis? Jessika: Well, these were like both very advertisey and complex at the same time in their narrative, which was interesting. So, this first one, I'm going to give you a little bit of backstory about these bitches. I say these bitches, because I'm going to be talking about a whole classroom full of children. So I obviously really like children. I have a bachelor's in French and everyone's like, you should teach. And I'm like, no, I shouldn't.  Mike: Oh, oh no. Let's talk about that for a sec. I majored in history my first time through college, and everyone also said I should teach. And I was like, I fucking hate [00:23:00] children. I worked at Disneyland it poisoned me again. And don't get me wrong. I have, I have two stepchildren now. I love them. I would die for them. They're great. But kids in general, not a fan. They're sociopathic little monsters. Jessika: Mm hmm. So the comic starts off with Superman doing patrols around Metropolis, and apparently he just does that. And he just jets off to a sixth grade classroom at the whim of Ms. Wilson.  Mike: I have my own theory about this. Jessika: Oh my goodness. He's supposed to be a guest teacher about computers, apparently. Like, First of all, for some reason, along with his super abilities, he's also a super computer genius. And is he accredited? Like is he allowed to be teaching students?  Mike: No. Okay. There, there are two things to discuss here. So you have [00:24:00] to remember that Superman from the Golden Age through the modern age was largely a weird sci-fi series where the main character was this alien who had all these powers that constantly changed. There wasn't really any editorial control until they streamlined it with Crisis on Infinite Earths. But on top of that, he was generally shown to be an amazing genius, like just whenever they needed it. But ,he built the Superman robots. He. I can't remember if he made the Phantom Zone Projector or if the Phantom Zone Projector was on artifact from Krypton, he was constantly trying to restore the city of Kandor, which was basically shrunk down to the size of a bottle, and it was a Kryptonian city, to restore it to its full size. Like in that issue of Super Boy, we read, he like put all those chemicals together and created the pools that granted the dogs, various powers.  Jessika: Yeah, no, I guess you're, I guess he's always been [00:25:00] smart.  Mike: Yeah. But then the other thing is that Superman is a little bit too earnest in this issue. Like, he shows up exactly on time. And then he is clearly trying to impress these kids to make a good impression with Ms. Wilson. And everything about this reeks of a dude who had a one night stand and is now desperate to hook up again. So what he's doing is he's trying to prove that A) he is reliable and B) he is good with kids. Jessika: Yep. No, that's totally how it felt.  Mike: I'm not speaking from experience. Jessika: Oh, so anyway, Superman creepily knows all the students' names, I guess, because he used his x-ray vision to look at the teacher's seating chart, even though that's not how x-rays work. That's always bothered me. I'm sorry, we don't have time for this.  Mike: [00:26:00] Thomas Edison would like a word. Jessika: Seriously. Also, I have to mention that the whole class was bored as fuck even after Sups flew in. And I don't know about you, but every kid I knew, wanted to know about computers and have a turn on the computer when we got them in the library at school or when someone got one at home.  Mike: Oh, yeah. Jessika: So the idea that one of the kids in his class is being dismissive of the whole idea of not doing normal schoolwork and just doing computer class instead with fucking Superman of all people. It's just ridiculous.  Mike: Oh yeah. And that kid actively shit talked Superman repeatedly.  Jessika: Oh, he's a shit heal. Oh. And he still gets to be the fucking like, protagonist. Fuck. Mike: Oh, it was so funny. I like, my favorite was when he beats Superman at a math problem later on and like the shit talking starts immediately, and I'm like, my dude, this is possibly not a good move to irritate a guy who could literally vaporize you with a [00:27:00] glare. Jessika: That's just it. That is just it. Yeah. No. Why would you try to piss this guy off? And then Shanna's like, Ooh, Superman. You better tell him. I was like, dude, Shanna, you, you need to shut the fuck up immediately and not goad this situation.  Mike: You know, that was probably the most realistic part of this entire comic, because speaking as someone that lives with an 11 year old, they are shit stirrers. Jessika: Oh my gosh. So, Supes takes the kids up to the roof because of course he does, and he proceeds to give the class some very long-winded exposition about the history of computers and their size and what they do and how they've evolved from the first computers, and moving into how they're used in society today from space travel to transistor radios, which what a time capsule of a callout.  Mike: [00:28:00] Yeah. Jessika: This whole thing was a whole time capsule.  Mike: Yeah. Very much is. Jessika: Of course, there was also some lovely product placement throughout and some not-so-subtle comments on affordability versus common household items. Tangent that always cracked me up to say, this computer is less expensive than a TV. Well, okay, but maybe I need a TV and I don't need a computer. They do vastly different things, or they did at that point.  Mike: Yeah. Jessika: It kind of reminds me of saying like this China set costs less than a month of gross. Okay, well, I need to eat and I don't necessarily need a China set, so.  Mike: Yeah, I mean, he was hard selling those kids. Jessika: Oh yeah. He was like, you should ask your parents to go out and buy you one.  Mike: Yup. Jessika: So, of course, Supes hears with his super hearing a tornado and he like jets the fuck out of there. And, he defeats it by [00:29:00] blowing the wind or something like that. And then he feels all sick and shit, and comes across a villain named Major Disaster who, you know, just as his name implies, causes quote unquote natural disasters like there's floods and shit. It was a little ridiculous.  Mike: Yeah, he was always kind of like a C- to D-list villain who would use weapons and equipment to make natural disasters. My knowledge of this character is hazy at best, but I think eventually he gained the ability to manipulate probability. He didn't appear a lot and he's been dead for a while, I think. Cause I remember him showing up as a zombie in Blackest Night. Jessika: Oh.  Mike: But, I mean, I remember reading this stuff and I was like, this is kind of a cool, like off-the-wall villain. I dig him. You know, I certainly liked them a lot better than other villains that I've seen in Superman books where it's like, you know, generic alien warlord number five. Jessika: Seriously. Well, and when I read the name, Major Disaster, I was like, [00:30:00] same, girl. So, of course Superman needs the help of these children that he like, makes them perform these, like, high-stress situational calculations on the computer for him. Instead of like asking the adult he's banging in the room. Mike: I mean. Jessika: Honestly, come on, like, get the adults involved, like, Alec and Shanna don't need to save the day. They're supposed to be in sixth grade, even though they look way older than that. Mike: Like, yeah, they looked like kind of like eighth or ninth graders. Like they were a little bit older, it seemed.  Jessika: The second one, they looked older than that, they looked like they were teenagers in the second one, for some reason, I was like, what's that? And then the third one, they got young again. And I was like, I don't know what's happening with you guys, but. Mike: Yeah. I mean, I will say that I was willing to believe that Alec was in sixth grade just because he had that awful fucking bowl haircut that like.  Jessika: My brother had that.  Mike: Right. Yeah. But [00:31:00] when did he stop having it? Jessika: No, no, you're right. Probably after he was like in, probably after middle school.  Mike: Yeah. It's, you know, it's that thing where suddenly you realize, oh, I can go to a barber instead of having my parents cut my hair.  Jessika: Oh. So the kids basically do a bunch of calculations, and they double check each other's work by doing the same calculation on two separate computers that Supes and flown in prior and just left there. Apparently.  Mike: Yeah. And there's a whole thing about how Major Disaster had knocked out all the other computers in town, but he didn't know about these two personal computers because personal computers were a new thing. And that's the other reason that they're the ones who were performing the calculations and then they're on radio headsets with Superman providing this information. Jessika: I still say you're in a school that has way more adults than just the one standing in that room, and even that one's not involved. So. Mike: I mean, well, and the other thing is that the math equations that he's throwing at them are like this jet is falling out of the sky at this speed. [00:32:00] The wind is this fast. They're going at this angle. How fast do I need to go to catch them without doing damage to the plane or the people inside. And it's like, first of all, of course, yes, as you said, it's high stress, but second, like I still don't know how to do that math equation. I don't know how these sixth graders did because they looked like they were in a pretty shitty school that Superman made worse at one point when he liked tunneled up through the floor and just left a giant hole. Jessika: He was like, I'll fix that later.  Mike: Sure you will, sure you will, Clark. Jessika: It's awful. Uh. So he finally of course finds the villain, defeats him, whatever. Then the kids are hailed as heroes and as a reward, I guess they get to be at a Radio Shack commercial about the computers they used. I mean, cool. I guess.  Mike: Yeah. It was kind of a, a, meh ending, but, but yeah. Like, I dunno. Did you [00:33:00] like the issue overall? I'm curious. Jessika: It got really in the weeds playing up the computer aspects, which okay. I get it. You know, again, I get it. This is an advertisement, but dude, snooze fest, I put it down a few times and had to pick it back up, during those computer exposition parts. And you know, I'm slightly bothered by a vague plot line, but all in all, like it was, it was fine.  Mike: Yeah. Jessika: To use your line.  Mike: Yeah. I mean, reading through it, some of the computer history stuff I thought was actually pretty interesting  Jessika: Yeah. Yeah.  Mike: Like, when they went up on the roof and he was saying, you know, so the space that we're sending in actually is the size of what computers used to fill. And yeah, it does get a little too in the weeds because they're trying to get a little too much exposition in there at the same time. I felt like overall it walked a relatively fine line of providing action that was kind of [00:34:00] interesting. And, and the plot line of, oh, well, yeah, his powers were on the fritz because there was microscopic kryptonite particles in the tornado and he inhaled them when he was getting ready to blow it out. Like, I thought that actually was surprisingly well thought out for basically a licensed advertisement. You know, this was, this was effectively a full length version of one of those like hostess, Twinkies ads that they used to do.  Jessika: Right?  Mike: Yeah. But like, I didn't hate it. I found it charming. Jessika: It had its moments.  Mike: Yeah. I'm not going to lie, I found the undeniable sexual attention between Superman and the kid's teacher really entertaining. Jessika: Yeah, definitely it was palpable. I thought it was even funnier too, that the kids were even, like Ms. Wilson, how do you know Superman?  Mike: And she doesn't answer! Jessika: And she was like, She like side eyes.[00:35:00] How do I know Superman?…Biblically.  Mike: Well, and that was the funny thing was when we were talking about this ahead of the episode, I was like, so yeah, they, they totally smashed, right? Like, like that's not up for debate. Jessika: No, it's really not. It happened.  Mike: All right. let's move on to the next issue. So. Clearly, this was a successful marketing tool because in 1981, DC and Radio Shack released a brand new book that was called Victory By Computer. So this time the main story was illustrated by a couple of legendary artists. There was Curt Swan and Vince Colletta. Coletta started as an artist and anchor from the Silver Age of comics. He frequently collaborated with Jack Kirby who is known as, you know, the king of comic books, and a lot of folks considered their run on Thor to be the definitive take on the character.  Kurt Swan's involvement, on the other hand, is especially noteworthy. [00:36:00] He is considered by many comic book artists to be the Superman artist. He started penciling Superman and Superboy comics in the late forties. And he didn't stop until DC put them out to pasture in the mid eighties because they were rebooting Superman via Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Arlen Schumer, who's this major comic book historian, says Swan penciled over 19,000 covers and pages of interior art for Superman comics.  Jessika: Whoa! Mike: Yeah. Like again, they were putting some serious talent behind these books. Jessika: They were pumping out a lot of content, to be fair.  Mike: Yeah. How would you summarize Victory By Computer? Jessika: We find ourselves, yet again at the elementary school, I put in heavy quotations of kids that look like they're about 17 years old, this issue. So Shanna and smartass Alec are back at it. This time, Supergirl joins the class to [00:37:00] teach them about the pocket computer. What a fucking throwback.  Mike: Like, that's something that we need to explain. Like the pocket computer was, basically kind of like a smart calculator that could perform basic functions and had a little keyboard in there. And I don't know how much they sold for, but they couldn't have been cheap. Jessika: I can't imagine so, yeah. Well, and by the way, at this point in the scene where Supergirl pulls out, her pocket computer, she pulls out of a pocket on her cape. So canonically, there are pockets in the capes. Mike: Yeah. They can't get them on the rest of their costume, but they can get them in their capes.  Jessika: Which means that there's just stuff like weighing down the cape, so it shouldn't even be moving like it does.  Mike: I remember in an early issue of Superman, the eighties series that John Byrne was doing, there is a bit where he stops by a balloon vendor because he's got a drone pursuing him and he winds up like [00:38:00] thinking, oh, it's lucky that I always carry a few spare dollars in like my belt buckle because he had that yellow belt back then, which side note I miss the yellow belt. I don't know if it's back, cause I haven't read any Superman comics for a while, but they got rid of it for quite some time. Like, I mean, you know, it's the Henry Cavill look now or it's the full blue suit. I miss the red trunks in the yellow belt. Jessika: Yeah. the good old days. Mike: Yeah. Jessika: So Supergirl decides to use her super powers to show the class they are able to find information on the TRS 80's as fast as she was able to find it, like physically with her super powers looking for it. And it was like, okay, sure.  Mike: Yeah.  Jessika: When an odd comparison, but fine.  Mike: Yeah, it was really weird, there was a bit where they, like, it almost felt like they were hacking into the newsfeed of, I think the Daily Planet to get headlines, even though I'm sorry, but like, come on really, you think that a [00:39:00] print journalistic outlet is going to have top of the line technology back then come on. Jessika: No they're not putting any of that into a computer. They're still handwriting everything.  Mike: Yes. I think back then they were still using, the electric typewriter that had like the built-in, it was quote unquote memory, but it was, you know, not really. Jessika: Not as we know it now, at least. And there was some definite sexual tension with Ms. Wilson at Supergirl as well. We will post the picture. Um.  Mike: Right. It's this whole bit where Supergirl is like, oh, don't worry. I'm a school teacher in my secret identity. And I'm like, I don't know. Like, Are you just trying to impress her with this? What's the end goal of revealing this crucial information about your secret identity, Supergirl? Jessika: I know, right. She's just trying to connect with another human. She's like I'm also a school teacher. We should talk about it over dinner sometime.  Mike: And then maybe move in together after three weeks of dating, and adopt three cats. Jessika: Oh, my gosh. So, Super girl basically [00:40:00] teaches the class and then she I'll bet she just left those fucking pocket computers too, because you know, just like Superman just left the computers there. He was like, have fun kids.  Mike: Okay. Yeah, but here's the thing, like, you really think that some middle school kids or elementary school kids, however old they fucking are. You really think that they're going to sit there and try to steal the computers that the literal alien gods from other planets dropped off and taught them about? Jessika: Oh, I'm not, I'm not worried. Oh, that's funny. Yeah, no, I'm not worried about them stealing it. I'm just like Superman just apparently has like the extra spending cash that he can just like drop off two computers to a school and just like fuck off. Like really?  Mike: No, I mean, I, I viewed it the other way of just like, they're like, they're not worried about it. They're like, yeah. We'll, we'll get those back. Don't worry.  Jessika: Oh, so Supergirl apparently gets asked to go on [00:41:00] patrol by Superman and she spots something fishy. And so she goes to check it out, but it was a trap, of course. Mike: Yeah, but I mean, it wasn't even a very good trap. Jessika: Is a stupid trap. It was like, if you're a superhero and you happen to get curious, because you happen to be going near this location, maybe. And she like fell right into maybe a four foot by four foot hole in the ground. So I'm not really sure how that worked either. They just were like, nah, she's going to fall right here.  Mike: Yeah. Like she fell through the skylight after getting hit with like a blast of red sun radiation, or whatever it is.  Jessika: You know what it was, they used their TRS 80 to calculate where she was going to fall. So she gets stuck in what's basically like, it's like a lounge. It's like somebody's living room, and they have a computer there with a phone. So it's like, they weren't even trying that hard to keep her [00:42:00] there.  Mike: No, it was, it was absolutely the, like what a seventies swinger house looks like in all the movies that we see now where you're just like, oh, oh, okay. Jessika: It basically had a conversation pit.  Mike: Yeah. Jessika: Yeah. So of course, she remembers the phone number from Ms. Wilson's classroom. Mike: Yeah, because the rotary phone had the phone number printed on the front of it, because that was a thing that used to happen. Jessika: I feel like that's a little more explaining than she needed to give. I think she is making up for the fact that she just knows that number by heart.  Mike: I was going to say, I think she really wanted to get Mrs. Wilson's phone number, and then it just happened to actually be helpful in a way other than getting her a date. Jessika: Gosh, Ms. Wilson, man. And canonically bisexual? Question mark? Mike: I don't see why not. I think we can, I think we can [00:43:00] officially declare it. Jessika: Someone's going to @ us, I hope they do. So at any rate, she gets in touch with the class. She makes them do all these weird wacky calculations, has some get in touch with Superman. And by the time Superman gets there, like she's gotten out of it because she also used the computer to find out that there were like underground tunnels. And so she's like, I'll just walk out of these tunnels.  Mike: Yeah, basically it turns out it was like an old mob hide out and the students were able to look up some articles, which again, like, I don't know, because I was born in 81 and I don't have a good idea of what computer and internet adjacent technology was like back then. But they apparently look up articles about this hideout that got busted and they learned from the articles that there were underground tunnels that. Whatever, it was dumb, they don't even show her getting out. It was dumb. Jessika: No, she's just like walking out afterwards and Superman's, like, [00:44:00] oh, I was here to save you. And she's like, I just took the tunnels dude. And then like the bad guys are just, they just happened to be driving by. So they were like, well, let's just go get the bad guys. What do you think? It looks like, oh those are Lex Luther's dudes. Let's just go get the bad guys.  Mike: Yeah. And there's a whole thing where like, Lex Luther has announced from jail that like Superman is going to break him out and it's a much looser plot than the first issue was. Like the first issue, there was like, I felt like a much tighter story, you know, in between the educational bits, this one, it felt like they were kind of stretching to figure out a way to connect all this stuff. Jessika: For sure. Yes. Mike: Yeah. Yeah. So I think we can safely say that this was not our favorite of three books. Jessika: No, this one was so ridiculous. I mean, I loved the heavy, heavy [00:45:00] gay overtones. Mike: I mean, when do we not love the heavy gay overtones? Come on. Jessika: It's the agenda after all: brunch for everyone.  Mike: Yeah. So like, do you have any final thoughts on this, or should we move on to the last of the three books? Jessika: Ugh. That's just once mosey.  Mike: Okay. All right. So 83 was when we got the final book, which is the Computer Masters of Metropolis. So, this time Paul Kupperberg wrote the script for the comic. Kupperberg, he's not exactly a household name in terms of comic books, but he is actually pretty prolific. He's written over a thousand comics during his time as a writer, including the first appearance of He-Man and then he wrote the subsequent Masters at the Universities for DC. Yeah, like, you know, so I've read some of his stuff and I didn't even realize it. Also like, this is actually my favorite factoid about him. He served as the senior editor of the Weekly World News shortly [00:46:00] before it got shut down in 2007. Jessika: What? Mike: Yeah. And like that automatically makes me like the dude, because the Weekly World News was one of my favorite things when I was in college, and because I was so good at Photoshop in high school and college, and I was interested in journalism, but I also love the weird stuff, I actually wanted to apply to the weekly world news for a job just for like a little while. And be like, yeah, like I Photoshop pictures of bat boy. Like, I really was hoping that that would be a thing, and then they shut down right after I graduated college and broke my cold black heart. Jessika: It's a damn shame.  Mike: But yeah. So, meanwhile, the art was handled again by Curt Swan and then he was also assisted by Frank Chiaramonte. Chiaramonte was Swan's regular anchor on the main Superman book from 1978 to 82. And then this is one of his last books that he worked on because he died really young in January of [00:47:00] 83. He was only 40 years old. Like.  Jessika: Oh.  Mike: Yeah, it's really weird too. I was trying to figure out what happened and all I could find was that just, he died young. But, he was regarded pretty well and he worked on a lot of stuff. So I think if he hadn't died, he probably would've, you know, gone on to great things. But the Computer Masters of Metropolis doesn't have a publish date other than 1982, which means it came out less than a year before his death, because he died in January of 83.  Jessika: Oh, dang.  Mike: Yeah. All right. So what happened in the Computer Masters of Metropolis?  Jessika: So, those are some lucky kids studying at whatever outskirts elementary school this is. Cause it's not in Metropolis proper, it's like in the suburbs of Metropolis somewhere.  Mike: Yeah. You know, it's superhero-adjacent to the city. Jessika: Yeah. Yeah. Right. And again, not sure why Ms. Wilson seems to be on really, really [00:48:00] friendly terms with all the superheroes in the area, but Wonder Woman shows up to take them to the World's Fair, which of course is being held in Metropolis.  Mike: Yeah. Which I mean, okay. Why, why not?  Jessika: Exactly. Meanwhile, Lex Luther was salty about being denied entry for an exhibit for the World's Fair because the organizers didn't want to encourage his villainy.  Mike: It's so good. It's so good. Jessika: And so Luther decides to try to blackmail a way in, but that didn't work. So, of course he decides the thing to do is to threaten, to like completely destroy the fair, and ultimately creates another red solar radiation trap. This time, luring Superman into a room, rigged with explosives and bathed in red solar radiation, dun, dun, dun. So once again, there are computers in the room, I think, so. So he reaches out to [00:49:00] Alec and Shanna who are told that Wonder Woman should also be at the fair and to page page her. And she's basically like, okay, why are children paging me right now? But finds out that Superman is being held at the plantarium. She lassos the whole damn building and whips it around and it somehow deactivates the red solar radiation beam? Question mark? Mike: I don't know, man, I was pretty checked out when I was reading this. Like. They reused a lot of the same stuff, too. Like the same art where they were showing the computer chip, getting threaded through the needle, the bit where the kids are all walking on the giant demo version of the TRS,  Jessika: Oh, and those kids were being very nice because they acted surprised and very impressed to see that same damn exhibit for a second time.  Mike: Yeah. Which previously had showed up in the last issue. And I mean, like, it was a lot more exposition this time around too.  Jessika: It was.  Mike: [00:50:00] Anyway, sorry. Jessika: No, not at all. So Superman escapes and they catch Luther and the day is saved. And the end scenes were particularly silly. The mayor I'm assuming goes to thank Wonder Woman for saving the day. And she's like, but also these children, who just happened to be standing on the stage, like right behind her anyway, like the mayor, just, wasn't going to say anything about those kids on the stage, too, apparently. And they had a computer on stage with them? They were like, and this is the computer, let it hold the key too. And you got to know that like both Wonder Woman and Superman have to have entire rooms dedicated to the key to Metropolis that they get every time they save some damn building or something, they're all like, chuck another one in there. No, no, no. You kids keep that one.  Mike: It's fine. I've got 12 at home that are much nicer. Jessika: They're hanging on a wall around in a study.  Mike: They just use them as like coat racks. Jessika: [00:51:00] So Alec and Shanna, once again, saved the day, I guess.  Mike: Yeah, I mean, this was actually my least favorite of the three comics, because again, it was recycling art or, or using very similar art. It was making a lot of the same points, but it felt a lot more telling, not showing. And while I was really happy to see Lex Luther being next level petty, which, these days, you know, Lex Luther is a billionaire CEO, scientist who also has like armies of underlings performing super science for him that he's able to utilize. He's basically he is a more-  Jessika: Jeff Bezos.  Mike: Yeah, He is He is a, I was going to say, he's just, he's a more nakedly transparent, Jeff Bezos.  Jessika: Oh, you actually were going to say that. I'm sorry. I stole that right from out from under you. Mike: [00:52:00] No. I mean like it's, I'm sorry, like Jeff Bezos exploits his workers and use the money that he got from that to take a rocket ship and play astronaut, which side note, one of my favorite things about that entire story is that NASA at the last minute redefined, I think it was NASA, redefined what constitutes the definition of an astronaut, so he couldn't get an astronaut patch or pin. An astronaut pin, I think. Jessika: Which, again, the level of petty, but this is what I need. This is what I need to see, because it can't always be fucking Lex Luther winning.  Mike: Yeah. But anyway, like I really appreciated that we got to see Lex Luther being a super villain goon, like very flamboyant, flying around with his own little personal jet pack or jet boots, whatever they were like, they were like, it was like little rockets that he had attached to like his. I'm I'm struggling to remember if it was on his boots or on his waist. It was one or the other, right? Jessika: Yeah, I think it was [00:53:00] on his, I think you're right about the boots. And then he also had those fancy power gauntlets.  Mike: Yeah. And I mean, the other thing is back in this era, Lex Luther actually had a couple of different costumes that he wore that were very colorful and over-the-top, and it was like green and purple. So it kind of was that, that Joker color motif again, you know, it was really striking. And so he had that outfit of kind of the purple and green spandex that we saw in this issue. But then he also had this really baller set of green power armor that he used to really make Superman's life miserable for awhile. Like I said, after 1983, Radio Shack stopped with the Superman comics, but they didn't actually stop making comics. They kept on doing these comics with the Whiz Kids, but they instead moved over to Archie comic publications. I haven't been able to find out why the partnership's stopped. There's very little actual [00:54:00] documentation about these comics outside of a bunch of articles saying, oh yeah, they happened. Like they were a thing. They were dumb. And then pretty much all I've been able to find otherwise is people selling them. Cause there's still a lot of them around. And if you're looking for a fun piece of comic book history, these aren't very expensive, even in mint condition. That said the Tandy brand was starting to fall out of popularity by 83. For some perspective, it's estimated that Tandy controlled up to 60% of the personal computer market in the late seventies, which is like an astronomical market share. However, and this is from an article by a guy named Ron White, that he wrote for a magazine called 80 Micro in 1987, and you can now find it on a site called Vintage is the New Old, and we'll put this in the show notes again, Tandy's market share was down to 25% by 86. So it's a pretty fast fall from grace. Jessika: Yeah.  Mike: And then, even though Archie was publishing the comics, [00:55:00] none of the Archie characters actually showed up in any of these books with the Whiz Kids, although Radio Shack did publish Archie in the History of Electronics separately.  Jessika: Oh. Mike: Like, yeah. But based on that, my guess is that Radio Shack was looking to save some cash and Archie was probably a much better deal. I'm guessing it costs a lot more to license DC superheroes than it does to just make a comic without any big name characters. Jessika: Oh, I am sure.  Mike: Yeah. And then shortly after Archie took over the publication duties, the TRS computer line got rebranded to the Tandy computer. So it makes sense that the comic was rebranded from the TRS Whiz Kid's to the Tandy computer Whiz Kids. And that's actually, when I first became aware of this whole venture, because Nostalgia Alley, which is the local retro game store up in Petaluma, has a copy of one of the Tandy Whiz Kids comics on the shelf behind the counter. And so I [00:56:00] spotted that one time and I was talking to Jason, the owner, and he let me check it out for a couple of minutes. And that's when I started looking into this whole thing, which, per usual, led us down a rabbit hole. Jessika: Love these rabbit holes of ours.  Mike: Yeah, they're fun. Anyway, the Tandi Whiz Kid's comics kept on coming out until 1992. And based on what I understand, they featured the Whiz Kids solving crimes, using Tandy computers and other Radio Shack products. I haven't read them. I do really want to track down a copy of the Computer that Said No To Drugs though. Jessika: Who was offering computers drugs? They are expensive! Mike: I, I don't know. I'm really curious about everything about that. Jessika: Hey man, you want to hit this? It's just a fucking computer. And it's like, what are you talking about, dude?  Mike: Oh, I'm having flashbacks now of that episode of, uh, Futurama where Bender gets hooked on electricity. Jessika: Oh, hahahaha. [00:57:00]  Mike: They keep on referring to it as jacking on anyway. Yeah. But the early nineties were when things really started to go downhill for Radio Shack and they never really stopped, because stores like Best Buy and Walmart just started to really eat their lunch. And then, it got to the point where they've had to declare bankruptcy twice in the past five years or so. Like they also declared Nick Cannon as their chief creative officer around the time of the first bankruptcy. Yeah. And now they've been bought by some shady sounding company out of Florida. So the brand is still around, but it's not really the company that we grew up with. And I don't know, I'm honestly not sure what's worse, like partnering with Nick Cannon, or being this pale reflection of your former glory. They both sound pretty bad. Jessika: Yeah.  Mike: But yeah, that's the story about Superman, and how he wound up acting as a computer salesman for [00:58:00] a couple of years. You got any final thoughts? Jessika: So I'm just shaking my head over here. Like my nostrils are flaring.  Mike: How was that different from any other conversation I lead though? Jessika: I literally prepare myself for these, cause I'm like, all right, you can get angry, but don't get too angry. My secret is I'm always angry.  Mike: Dun dun dun. Jessika: Hmm. So you know, it's really interesting to see how very far we've come since these issues came out in the early eighties. Like, we're sitting here on small laptops, I've got a phone and a tablet right here in front of me as well, and you and I are basically sitting across from each other, having a conversation, even though we're not even in the same physical location.  Mike: Yeah. Jessika: It blows my mind how amazing things like high speed trains and basic information [00:59:00] searches seemed back then, when they're so commonplace now. Like, I seriously Google everything. I would be nowhere without Google.  Mike: Yeah. My career is because of the internet. Jessika: Yeah. Yours, yours sure, is absolutely that's, yeah. That's a wild thing to think about too. And it's also wild to think about how much more advanced technology has become even in just, I had to do the calculations 40 years time, which I about had a panic attack when I mathed that out because. Ha ha ha. We're almost 40. Mike: Yep. Actually this episode is going to air right around the time that I'm going to be turning 40. Jessika: Yup. Happy birthday, to Mike.  Mike: Thanks, I hate it.  Jessika: No, Yeah. Right. At least you're not my mom giving my dad a [01:00:00] vulture piñata for his 40th birthday. Mike: No, Sarah has declared that she wants my 40th birthday to be a super soft birthday, which if you've ever watched Letterkenny.  Jessika: Yes! I was hoping You were going to say that. There has to be a unicorn.  Mike: I know, I think it's going to be put on hold until we're all vaccinated, but we might do a belated super soft birthday. Jessika: Yeah, okay. I figured you guys are going to have a family super soft birthday. But, if you want to have a super soft after birthday, when things clear up, I am, I am there and I will be eating some lovely pink frosted cupcakes with you.  Mike: You're on, big shoots. So we are now at the point of the episode where we're going to wrap things up with our Brain Wrinkles, which is when we discussed the one thing that is comics or comics adjacent that we just can't get out of our head. So you want to start things off? Jessika: Oh sure. [01:01:00] As I promised, I just finished watching the latest season of The Boys, which is season two. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. That show is bat shit wild. Mike: Yeah.  Jessika: And what's been sticking in my head is the abuse dynamic between Homelander and mean, anybody he deals with, really? Mike: I was gonna say, everybody? Jessika: Yeah. And it's so interesting, cause as he was growing up, he was taught that not only is he more powerful than any person, he has been told that he is special and is entitled to do whatever pleases him. Which is really scary to see him manipulating others, using fear as a motivator to encourage them to comply. And honestly, the reason it scares me the most is just the powerlessness that these people, and most often women, are terrified into just following through with Homelander's whims.  Mike: Yeah. yeah. There's a lot of really [01:02:00] uncomfortable moments in that show. But I like the show, which I didn't expect. Jessika: Well, I do like that it's putting a spotlight onto that dynamic, cause that's a dynamic that we show is very one-sided, usually a little victim blamey.  Mike: Mmhmm.  Jessika: You know, why didn't she just leave kind of a narrative, which we all know it's not that easy.  Mike: Yeah. Jessika: And I think this is a really good example of why it's not that easy, in a very powerful way. And, it does remind me of people who are stuck in abusive households or relationships and are in different ways, powerless to leave their situations. So, hopefully it sparks some conversation.  Mike: Yeah. Jessika: Well, but what about you?  Mike: Mine is also TV related, but it's not quite as topical as your thoughts. So, I actually was trying to show my stepson[01:03:00] some X-Men cartoons the other day. And as we started to watch the first episode of Wolverine and the X-Men, he started to ask me all these questions about who the different characters were, because they basically start the show off assuming that the audience knows who all of the X-Men are, because at the time when it launched, the X-Men were a major brand, and then Disney acquired Marvel right before this. And then, they kind of made mutants personas, non grata, and, the mutants have not been featured in Disney programming up until the point where basically for the past 10 years, major media representation for kids of characters, like the X-Men, aren't all that common. And so it was just kind of a really thoughtful moment for me, where I realized I had to start them over from the beginning with an earlier X-Men cartoon, where he gets all these introductions. And I think there's going to be this generation that is going to grow up learning who the X-Men are a lot later than a lot of us [01:04:00] did. Like I knew all of the X-Men by the age of nine and I suspect. Jessika: Oh, yeah. Mike: Yeah. And so I think it's going to be really interesting to watch a generation of teenagers discover the X-Men really for the first time outside of, you know, Wolverine and Deadpool, because everybody knows who they are. Jessika: Yeah, of course. Hm. Mike: But yeah.  Jessika: That's wild.  Mike: Yeah. It's kind of one of those surreal moments of realization. Yeah.  Jessika: Hmm.  Mike: So, in two weeks we will be back with our next installment of the Sandman book club, which is going to be volumes three and four. And then until then we'll see you in the stacks. Thanks for listening to Ten Cent Takes. Accessibility is important to us, so text transcriptions of each of our published episodes can be found on our website.  Mike: This episode was hosted by Jessika Frazer and Mike Thompson written by Mike Thompson, and edited by Jessika Frazer. Our intro theme was written and performed by Jared Emerson Johnson of Bay Area Sound, our credits and transition music is Pursuit of Life by Evan [01:05:00] MacDonald, and was purchased with a standard license from Premium Beat. Our banner graphics were designed by Sarah Frank, who you can find on Instagram as @lookmomdraws. Jessika: If you'd like to get in touch with us, ask us questions, or tell us about how we got something wrong, please head over to tencenttakes.com or shoot an email to tencenttakes@gmail.com. You can also find us on Twitter; the official podcast account is tencenttakes. Jessika is jessikawitha, and Jessika spelled with a K, and Mike is vansau, V a N S a U.  Mike: If you'd like to support us, be sure to download, rate and review wherever you listen. And if you like, what you hear, tell your friends. Jessika: Stay safe out there.  Mike: And support your local comic shop. Lfa66XA001sq2SOSeOU7

Quick Announcement for EHR listeners! For a limited time Matt Blackburn is giving Extreme Health Radio show listeners 25% off his line of products. Just enter code EHR15 at checkout while it lasts! Callie Lyons is the author of the groundbreaking book called, Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof, and Lethal: The Hidden Dangers of C8 which I highly encourage you to read. How many of you have pots and pans in your kitchen with any kind of non stick coating on them? If you do, most likely it's teflon (which is a "forever chemica" meaning it can NEVER be broken down) and teflon creates a chemical with 8 carbons attached which is why it's calls C8. This chemical is DEADLY. This is why it's critical for you to not only remove toxic cookware from your home and kitchen but share this with any loved ones (family or friends) who still cook on this "non stick" cookware. A while ago we did a show on benzene and how damaging that is and now it's this chemical from Teflon called C8 is now just as damaging and possibly cancer causing too. Callie Lyons is pushing for more legislation and testing about C8, Teflon and these potentially toxic chemicals that damage our health more than the public ever knows. Please share this show with as many people as you can. Thank you for listening and for your support! One Last Thing! As always your support via your donations and bookmarking our Amazon link to use each time you purchase is how we keep our show going. Thank you for bookmarking our Amazon link even if you're not buying anything right now! :) Sponsors For This Episode: Extreme Health Academy (Use Code: EHR14 for a free 14 day trial!) Mitolife Enzymes & Shilijit (Use Code: EHR25 for 25% off!) Relax FAR Infrared Sauna Bellicon Rebounder Aloe Vera Colostrum Related Products To This Episode Blue Blockers BARF World Raw Dog Food Qigong Course Magnetico Sleep Pad Omica Organics 12 Stage RO Water System Greenwave Dirty Electricity Filters Show Links For This Episode: https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/15/opinions/lerner-chemical-c8-dupont-plant/index.html https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i9/chemicals-use-today.html https://www.alternet.org/2015/07/84000-chemicals-use-humanity-only-1-percent-have-been-safely-tested/ https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2019/09/science-pfas-rebuttal-3m-s-claims https://www.pfasfacts.com/ https://www.3m.com/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9071322/ https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bucky+bailey+teflon&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.abcnews.go.com%2Fimages%2FUS%2Fabc_bucky1_le_191125_hpEmbed_16x9_992.jpg Du Pont: Behind the Nylon Curtain https://greensciencepolicy.org/highly-fluorinated-chemicals/ https://greensciencepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Infographic_Highly-Fluorinated-Chemicals.jpg https://greensciencepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Infographic_Highly-Fluorinated-Chemicals.jpg Guest Bio Callie Lyons is a journalist and author living in the Mid Ohio Valley. Her first book, Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal: The Hidden Dangers of C8, is available at Amazon.com and in hundreds of libraries all over the world. Known as a "warrior for public health", Lyons' environmental investigations have been featured in documentaries, including Good Neighbors - Bad Blood, Toxic Soup, and Parched: Toxic Waters by National Geographic. Her work has appeared on Nova's Whiz Kids and in Mother Jones magazine. Please Support Us If You Are Able: (Opens in a new window - Every bit helps us to keep delivering even better shows that help you heal & thrive!)

On this mostly tardy episode f the show, the guys get together once again to discuss subjects of great importance. The post Better late Than Never- The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 756 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

This episode was recorded in late 2020, but somehow never made it to the feed. Who can even remember what was said? We are sure it was gold anyhow, enjoy! The post A New Old Episode- The hotshot Whiz kids Podcast Episode 754 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

The guys have returned after a hiatus. In this episode the guys discuss what they were doing since they last got together to record and so much more! The post Return Of The Living Podcasters- The hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 755 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

Spam Spam Spam Humbug will be, for the next several weeks, doing a complete read-through of Andrea Contato’s “Through the Moongate”. This week covers the third chapter of the book, which details Garriott’s porting of DND28 to Applesoft BASIC, his exposure to several other notable computer games of the late 1970s and inspiration he drew therefrom, and the eventual release of Akalabeth: World of Doom.. Subscribe: Anchor | iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | TuneIn | Stitcher | Join Us on Discord Full show notes at spamspamspamhumbug.com. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ssshpodcast/message

This time on the show the guys check-in with long time “Pop Clips superstar” Kimmy, who evidently has been quite busy since we last visited. The guys also listen to a family band and some movie and TV ideas, plus more! The post The Return-The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 753 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

This time on the show they guys get together for a pre-Christmas show that really had nothing to do with Christmas. the guys discuss the ongoing pandemic, breakfast foods and more! The post Do They Know it's Christmas?- The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 753 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

This week the guys discuss fine beverages and yodeling dogs . The post Are we there, yet?-The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 752 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

Timestamp:00:50 – Welcome!02:54 – A slice of pie06:21 – Cookies, cakes and pies! (and ROH)10:04 – Shout out!12:42 – The documentary14:34 – Maybe you’ll learn something boys and girls17:23 – Speaking of “unwrapping” things22:04 – The Mandela Effect25:44 – On a much more intellectual note…27:52 – Yankees were loaded29:58 – Cary: “Speed, alcohol…” Ian: “And amphetamines!” Cary: “That’s speed.”32:13 – “I hit the ball like nobody business!”35:50 – Maybe I should cut down from 16 drinks a day to 12…39:42 – Lambchop update!40:01 – The Whiz Kids 43:01 – There is still a link45:28 – So many great players50:18 – Holiday book recommendation tourCREDITS:Cary Silkin on Twitter - @rohcaryCary Silkin on FacebookIan Riccaboni on Twitter - @ianriccaboniIan Riccaboni on FacebookAJ @ Bisson Creative(web, design, photo, audio & video):Bisson Creative& Facebook, InstagramEric Nordrum (copy writer, moral support & high-fives):Twitter - @ericlikesfood

This time the guys talk about fist fights and troublesome HOA contracts. The post There Goes The Neighborhood – The Hotshot Whiz Kids Episode 751 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

Chapter 00017 Summary Chapter 00018 Narrative The Pop!  The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)  Adidas (1949 - Present)  Men Without Hats (1977 - Present) The Wizard of Oz (1939)  Hamlet (1603) Neuromancer (1984) ECTO-88  Mad Max (1979), The Road Warrior (1981)  Shrink Spell and Matchbox Cars  (1953 - Present)  Superman (1978) R2D2 (A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy, Far, Far Away….) New Order - "Blue Monday" (1983) Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy (1978)  Klingons (1966) Union of the Snake - Duran Duran (1983) Glenmorangie - Highlander (1986) "Beaming" - Star Trek (1966) Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) Billy Idol - Rebel Yell (1983) Saturday Night Fever (1977) Plastic Man (1941) Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time" (1984) L.A. Style - "James Brown Is Dead" (1991) Blondie - "Atomic" (1979) Simon and Simon (1981 - 1989)) The Whiz Kids (1983 - 1984) Hosts Albert "Glen M. Orangier" Padilla Will "L.A. Style" Wilkins 3-2-1 Contact! Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch: @TheBasementRPO Facebook: /TheBasementRPO Patreon: www.patreon.com/TheBasementRPO TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/mjtTM-nrguo

This time the guys are on a rampage and are not going to take it anymore. If that doesn't get you to listen, nothing will! The post Great Scott! – The Hotshot Whiz Kids Episode 750 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

This time on a very special episode of the podcast the guys discuss the Ups and downs of a long distant relationship with their Gardener. The post You Rang?- The Hotshot Whiz Kids Episode 749 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

This time on the program, the guys discuss the nature of time and space itself! The post What Time Is It? – The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Episode 748 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

The Phillies take on the Royals in their first world series appearance since the days of the Whiz Kids

In this new episode of the podcast the guys learn all about deep sea diving and aquatic life. The post Have you seen my Snorkel? – The Hotshot Whiz Kids Episode 747 first appeared on The Hotshot Whiz Kids Podcast Network.

Mark and Chris get together to review this extremely underrated film from 1986. Matthew Labyorteaux who is best know from Little House on the Prairie and the 80's hacker action show, Whiz Kids. Matthew plays Paul Conway who  has a best friend who is a robot....yeah. Having a robot buddy may seem cute but after his friend is killed by her abusive father, Albert...I mean Paul attempts to save her by implanting robotic microchips into her brain.....yeah. Who else is in the nearly forgotten film? How about Anne Ramsey who plays the shotgun wielding neighbor and is easily the same character she portrayed in Throw Mama From the Train. We also have a very young Kristy Swanson who looks lovely until...she's ya know....dead. I hope you guys enjoy this and for my Walnut GroveCast listeners I even added a tiny bit of fun at the very end.

The Wealthy “Movers and Shakers” of this World So turn in your Bibles to the text that you just heard or read, 1 Corinthians Chapter 1. we're looking this morning at the end of this marvelous chapter, verses 26-31. A number of years ago I watched an episode of a program that was popular at that time, called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and I actually feel like I'm confessing sin to you that I watched the show. I'm not saying how many episodes I watched, but I did watch at least one. And the show was set up to take the viewers into the mansions and the daily lives of the beautiful people, the jet set, the elite, the creme de la creme of our generations. You could see their lavish provisions, their stunning Real Estate, scenic vistas, overpowering architecture of their mansions of the wealthiest people in the world. And like voyeurs, you could stand on the outside looking in, and just basically covet, I guess. The show eventually morphed into a spinoff on VH1 called The Fabulous life of ... So that was the same thing. Jay-Z and Beyoncé. I don't know how you pronounce that. Sorry. (I'm going to become smaller and smaller in your estimation, that's part of the goal of the whole sermon). But whoever they are… And I'm not pronouncing any more famous names. Just looking at their lavish lives, their VIP treatment. Everywhere they go, they're treated like royalty. And my wife I just recently and were in England, we went to the outskirts of Buckingham Palace. The British do that with the Royal Family. They're interesting over here too, Royal weddings are incredibly fascinating to Americans and British people alike, the movers and shakers. Every generation has had those people, the ones that everyone wants to know and be seen with. When they walk by, everyone pulls out at this point, their smart phones and takes photos. And these are people whose decisions are shaping the age and the era in which we live, and their patterns of consumption soar far beyond anything that we could ever achieve in our lives. We've had our own royalty, not just the royal family, but we've had our wealthy folks. I've been to the mansions in Newport, where the robber barons of the late nineteenth century had their summer cottages, so they called them, and were able to sail their yachts there, in Rhode Island. Many of you I'm sure I've been to the Biltmore Estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and seen... I don't know, the golden bathtubs or whatever it is, that are in Biltmore. Well they... Those people existed in Paul's day, as well. The noble classes, the ruling elites, the overwhelmingly rich, the famous, the scholars, the philosophers who are world renowned, and people had come from all of the world to sit at the feet of the Greek philosophers and learn wisdom from them. Now, in this section of Scripture, Paul makes it plain that God purposely did not choose many of such people for his church. Now, this runs directly contrary to the wisdom of the world, the world's wisdom is seen in trusting human capability, human power. So human personality, human wealth human ingenuity human politics human military force, human power to build human empires, is the story of the world, the history of the world. The Corinthian church, though, converted to Christ by the gospel, was still thinking in a worldly way, about all these things. And this is seen in their divisions and factions. They were breaking into subgroups one saying, "I follow Paul", another "I follow Apollos" another, "I follow Peter." And their whole way of thinking about great leaders, and sitting at their feet was very worldly. They were thinking, as the phrases in the text today, according to the flesh. They had a mind according to the flesh. We're going to talk about that phrase, it's worldly thinking. And Paul has to correct them, as a shepherd of their souls, he has to correct this whole faulty way of thinking and he has to correct ours as well, he has to show them that God's whole way of dealing with sinful humanity and redemptive history is to slaughter our pride, everything he has done, literally from before the foundation of the world, until the end of the world will be to slaughter human pride. It's devilish, this pride of ours, this arrogance, it's devilish. And He, in order to save us, must make us lowly and meek and submissive to His infinite greatness, so that we will not continue to imitate the devil in his arrogance, who was so filled with self love, he was so impressed by what he was, that he thought to raise himself up higher and higher and topple God from His heavenly throne. And when he was thrown down to the Earth, He then recruited the human race to join him in a similar arrogant upswing to, topple God from His throne. It's the nature of our rebellion. So 1 Corinthians 1 and 2, Paul is showing how God saves sinners in ways that seem foolish and weak and shameful. And he does this in three steps, and we're looking this morning at the second of the three steps, the first is to look at Christ, and him crucified. Foolishness to the Greeks. A stumbling block to the Jews, initially offensive, it levels human pride. The second step in his progressive argument to show how God is about slaying human pride and doing things that make no sense to us and our fleshly thinking. Is the church itself, the Corinthian church. It's made up of unimpressive people, who are not the best and the brightest. They were not the Movers and Shakers, they were not the beautiful people, they did not live the lifestyles of the rich and famous, instead, they were those generally despised by people like that. Paul's overall goal here, is to teach Corinthians to think about God and themselves according to true divine heavenly wisdom, and not according to the fleshly wisdom they've been thinking. The third step, we'll see next time I preach in 1 Corinthians, and chapter 2 is to look at himself, the preacher. And he's just not impressive. And his presentation wasn't impressive. He was with them in weakness and fear much trembling, and he didn't use wise and persuasive words, he just preached the gospel. And so that's going to be the third of the three humbling steps. I. God’s Wisdom in Calling Not Many “Movers and Shakers” (verse 26) So let's look this morning at verse 26, God's wisdom in calling not many movers and shakers. Paul asked the Corinthians to consider their own condition. Verse 26: "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called, not many of you were wise by human standards, not many influential, not many of noble birth." Actually, in the Greek, the verse 26 begins with the command "See." So he wants them to see themselves. John Calvin said at the beginning of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, "Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consist in two parts: The knowledge of God and of ourselves." Faith is the eyesight of the soul, by which we can rightly see both. We can see the greatness and majesty of God and you can finally rightly look at yourself. And so that's what he's calling them do in verse 26. Now turn your gaze on yourself for just a moment, look at yourself. But it's a humbling gaze. Faith humbles us about ourselves. He wants them to think of themselves with sober judgment, he's not trying to humiliate them. And God's strategy was not to choose the best and the brightest from every generation. That phrase, "the best and the brightest", came into the American vocabulary during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. He was filling his cabinet posts and his administration positions with young experts in every fields, and that phrase came in, "the best and the brightest." They were the Whiz Kids of policy. And president Eisenhower been an older previous generation, JFK represented new young leaders, and so they were the best and the brightest. And so, he is assembling his team of geniuses to help run the country. Paul wants the Corinthians to look honestly at themselves and to realize that they were not that. They were commoners. Perhaps even below average in life achievement, in intelligence and in human influence, political influence. So look at yourselves when you were called. Now, this word "called", we mentioned it last time, very significant theologically, it has to do with the sovereign drawing, the calling of God, of sinners, out of darkness into light. The sovereign activity of Almighty God, King on his throne, and saving sinners like us, he calls us. Romans 8:29-30, he speaks of this sovereign calling of God and salvation. It says there "For those whom God for new, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified." So step by step, he works in the elect to bring them from darkness to eternal glory, and the calling is part of His sovereign plan. Now, the calling on in the life of an elect person begins the moment they're born. Everything they hear, every experience that they have is divinely orchestrated eventually to bring that individual to faith in Christ, God is very wise in this, and he's preparing them to come to faith in Christ. But here, Paul, I think, is meaning, especially that last step, when they heard the Gospel preached, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, who is crucified for sinners like you and me, and He was buried on the third day, He was raised to life. That Gospel…They heard it, and then, the secret sovereign power the of Holy Spirit of God, reached within their souls, and transformed them, took out the heart of stone, gave them a heart of flesh. He changed their entire perspective by sovereign grace. They were called. The God, as it says in Romans 4, "who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." The sovereign calling. What Was Your Life Circumstance When You Were Called? So think of what you were at that moment, what was your life circumstance? That last decisive step. Did God call you because you were so awesome? Did God call because you were so spectacular? So bright and shiny? Not at all. Actually, He specifically chose you in part, it seems Corinthians, because you are not all that. He actually wanted his church made up for the most part of people who were despised in the world. That's what the text is saying. Now, many of you have had the experience on the playground of being chosen or maybe not chosen for the kickball team. Alright? Usually what happened when I was going to school is you would have the two best kickball players stand as Team, A Team B and then they would alternate and pick on down until every spot was filled. You know exactly… Some of you are already cringing, because you know where I'm going, the one thing you don't want is to be the last person chosen on the kickball team. Because it meant that you stunk at kickball. And so that's humiliating. But here, God seems to be choosing his church the exact opposite way from the way we would do it. He's not looking at capabilities. He's not looking at life achievement. He's actually putting his church together very differently than the way we would do it. He was not choosing the powers that be, but those things that are not, the text says. And so look... He goes through a list of what God didn't choose. He says "Not many of you are wise by human standards." or literally, the Greek is "according to the flesh." It's a very important phrase theologically. The flesh here, means "according to that worldly perspective," that worldly way of thinking, that he's fighting against in this whole chapter. That human perspective, the Corinthians were not wise according to human standards. No one was traveling from all over Greece to come and sit at their feet and listen to their wisdom. No one is writing down the pearls that came from their mouths. They just weren't all that. They were just average people leading average intellectual lives. Paul also had some other phrases. Not many were powerful, not many of noble birds. So the powerful here might refer to physical strength. As Jeremiah 9, that we'll get to in a moment, says, "Let not the strong man boast of his strength." So it could be that, but probably more likely, just influence in the community, like political strength, power, power. The Corinthians were not the policy shapers of their age, they didn't set the policies, there in Corinth. Their opinions carried very little weight, no one was asking them to weigh in on the hottest issues of the day. They were not the Movers and Shakers, they were the moved and the shaken. When Gallio, the proconsul there in Corinth, made his policies, they followed and submitted or they were deemed criminals. So they were not the policy makers. Neither were they of noble birth. That referred to their status in society. No one was writing down their heritage, their coat of arms, their great great grandfather was so and so and their great grandfather was so and so, and on down to their father, etcetera. No one cared about their genealogy. No one cared about their ancestors or how influential they were. They were not the moneyed class, they didn't have buying power to bribe officials or startup capital for companies or employment so that they could employ all kinds of poor people. They weren't those kind of people. Not at all, they were the poor, uninfluential people. Commoners. The Difference Between “Not Many” and “Not Any” Now, there's an eternity of difference. Just one letter in the English, but an eternity of difference between not many and not any. It is not true that there are not any wise influential, wealthy, noble birth, believers in Christ, that is not true. Even there in Corinth, Crispus the synagogue ruler believed in his household as part of the church. Stephanus and Gaius had households. And that was pretty significant, and so there were some wealthy people there, in the church. Worldwide, and throughout church history, there have always been some that were among the great geniuses of their age, that were also genuine believers in Christ. I think about Augustine, whose writings would take a lifetime to study, the depth of his thinking is almost incalculable. John Calvin was training to be a lawyer when he was converted, brilliant mind. Apostle Paul himself, he was recognized as a very brilliant individual, so much so that at one point, one of his judges said, "Your great learning is driving you insane." So clearly an educated individual. Think about Blaze Pascal, the 17th Century French philosopher, mathematician, brilliant, lover of Jesus Christ. We were talking this morning, one church member and I, about Isaac Newton. Big question mark on him, brilliant guy, one of the greatest scientists of all time. He believed in the deity of Christ, but didn't believe in the Trinity. So interesting. Don't know about him. But Isaac Newton was one of the best and the brightest of his generation. You've got some Kings like Charlemagne, perhaps, or Good King Wenceslas who were genuinely believers, it seems, and used their positions of power to serve Christ. But there are not many. Heads of states like Abraham Kuyper, who is, I think, a Dutch prime minister and a strong believer in Christ and used his position for the glory of God. Wealthy people, some like RG Le Tourneu gave a reverse tithe, he kept 10% of what he made and gave 90% away to the Christian causes. A very wealthy individual. Selina Hastings known as the countess of Huntington, used her money and her influence in British society to do countless good works. Evangelical works. Was a patron, and friend of George Whitfield. Then there's William Wilberforce, who as a member of Parliament, but also a member of the ruling aristocratic class who used his power and his influence to end the British slave trade. So we're not going to say "Not any," just "Not many." And so those that actually were among the best and the brightest of their generation, even they were slain, their pride was slaughtered by the gospel, and they recognized that everything they had they got from God. And it still, their own intellect is as nothing like a candle to the sun of the intellect of God. They're humbled by it. So percentage-wise, worldwide, not many. And so I would say, overall, in the entire world population, there are not many Christians. Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." So already, genuine Christians, are not many population-wise, but even of those, a very small percentage are the movers and shakers, the best and the brightest, the brilliant, not many at all. II. God’s Actions in Electing the “Foolish Things” (verse 27) Now, why? Why? Well, it's because this was God's intention. God did this on purpose. It was God's action in electing the foolish things. Look at verse 27, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." This is a strong statement of sovereign election. The end of 1 Corinthians 1 is one of the strongest passages on the of doctrine of sovereign election, for salvation, you'll find in the Bible. God chose those who would be saved. He assembles His church as He sees fit. He's going to say it straight out in verse 30. Look down at verse 30 and there's a strong statement there. Don't miss it. Verse 30, "It is because of Him," referring to God, "It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus." That's about as clear as you'll ever get it said. If you are a Christian today, it's because of God, God's sovereign election that is working in your life, so it's not an accident. This makeup of not many is not an accident. And your salvation is not an accident. It's not by your unaided free will, like one day you up and decided to become a Christian. Jesus said to His apostles, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear much fruit." Now, I do believe we choose Christ. I just think we choose Him after He has chosen us, and as a consequence of Him choosing us. Just like it says in 1 John, "We love because He first loved us." So also we choose Christ because He first chose us. That's what this is teaching. Even more amazing, that the Scripture teaches us that God made this choice before the foundation of the world. In Ephesians 1:4-6, it says, "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ." So before the foundation of the world, by sovereign election, He chose us. He did not choose based on any foreseen righteousness on our part, like God saw... It’s not like he looked down through the corridors of time, and saw that someday you would believe in Him, or someday you would be righteous, and on that basis, He chose. The Scripture teaches exactly the opposite. As a matter of fact, it says that he chose before you were born, so that you couldn't boast. He teaches us in Romans 9:11-12, speaking about Jacob and Esau, "Yet before the twins were born or had done anything, good or bad, in order that God's purpose in election might stand..." What is God's purpose? "Not by works, but by Him who calls." That's God's purpose, so that when we get to Heaven, we'll realize it was not by works, but by Him, God, who calls. So that's God's purpose in choosing us before the foundation of the world. Not “Unconditional Election” but Sovereign Election Now, I would here say that it's not good to speak of "unconditional election." I think that's not a good phrase. I told you that I would offend every one of you at some point in these sermons in Corinthians, so now I get to offend the five-point Calvinists who love the TULIP acronym, and the U stands for unconditional election. I think it is not a good term. It implies that God, willy-nilly, for no reason at all, just chooses. I don't think that's true. God is a very rational being. He has His reasons for everything. I would prefer, instead, "sovereign election," that God chooses based on His own reasons. I think there's at least two indications this is true. God wants some people around the throne from every tribe, language, people, and nation, so says Revelation Seven. So the fact that you are from this tribe, or this language, or nation matters, because none of those are going to slip through the cracks, and, "Oh, I guess there weren't any representatives from that tribe or that language." So God sovereignly elected some from every tribe, every language, every people. And here in this text, it seems that God intentionally chooses, for the most part, those that are rejected by the world. It's not an accident. God's ways are not our ways, friends. As Isaiah 55 says very plainly, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, says the Lord. As the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Or again, as it says at the end of Romans 11, "Oh, the depths of the riches, and the wisdom, and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments and His paths, beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him…" and I like to say, "Back to Him" "are all things. To Him, be the glory forever." So I think that's what it is. God's ways are not... You can't track Him. You think about, like in the Old West, there would be somebody that was a really good expert tracker. They could track even horses hoofs on hard rock. They knew how to follow. They could trace out where someone had gone, skillful trackers. What he's saying is, that the most skillful human tracker can't trace God's paths. We don't know where He's been and we can't tell where He's going, except that He tells us directly, in big picture. And so we wouldn't have done it this way. And I think He's doing all this, so that we realize all of our achievements, and all of our capabilities, our intelligence, our wealth, all of it came from Him. What do you have that you didn't receive? And if you did receive it, why would you ever boast as though you did not? You got to realize everything you have is someday going to go back to Him, because He gave it, and so there's this humbling work. And we should not think that God, if He had only tweaked the message, if He could have fixed the message, it'd be more popular among the wealthy, and more popular among the movers and shakers. It’s not like He needs to fix the message. See, now you're starting to meddle in the things of God. You know, we tend to think that way on campus. "If the star quarterback could come to Christ, think what influence he would have." Or the president of the student body, "If she would come to Christ, what influence she could have." Or the Nobel Prize winners, "If one of them would just be converted, what influence they could have." We want to give God advice, "Would you just convert a lot of these people, God?" And then everybody would follow after. But that's exactly the kind of thinking that God, through Paul, is trying to slay here. The Gospel is for the humble and lowly, little children, poor outcasts. Do you remember in John 7, Jesus' brothers want to give Him some advice on being Messiah? The arrogance, it's amazing. Jesus wasn't going up to the feast in John Seven. His brothers are surprised, so they go to Jesus in John 7:3-5 to give Him some advice. I picture one of them putting his arm around Jesus, say, "Can I just give you some advice here? I mean, you're really good at this whole miracle thing. I don't know how you do it. It's amazing. But no one who does miracles like this stays hidden. Jesus, this makes no sense. Go up to Jerusalem, where everyone is, and put on a show." John 7:5, "For even His brothers did not believe in Him." It's a display of unbelief to try to give God that kind of advice. You don't put an arm around God and give Him some advice on how He could manage His affairs better. "If only He could win the best and the brightest, then everyone would follow along." God knows what He's doing. There's a clear example of this in Judges chapter 7. Do you remember the story of Gideon? When the Midianites were ravaging the land, God raised up Gideon, who was not an impressive individual. And it was time for Gideon to raise an army, and then God comes to Gideon. Do you remember what He tells him? "Gideon, you have too many men" here. I mean, that's got to be a first in military history. "Gideon, your army's too big. Send some of them home." But He says, specifically, in Judges 7, why? In order that the Israelites might not boast against me that their military power won this battle. Send them home. Two thirds of them went home, 22000 who trembled and were afraid of battle. So they went home, leaving a smaller number. But then God came a second time to Gideon and said, "You still have too many men, so we're going to divide them up in an interesting way. We're going to watch how they drink water. And the ones that lap water like a dog, we'll hold on to them." 300 of them. Now, don't think they're like the 300 Spartans, the mightiest warriors. No, they are 300 guys who lapped water like a dog. And what was their job going to be in the battle? They're going to not hold a sword in their hand. They're going to hold a torch, and a lantern, and a trumpet, and they're going to break the torch, and shout, and blow a trumpet, and then the Midianites will kill themselves. So you could go to these heroes after the battle and say, "What did you do? First of all, how did you get chosen?" "I lapped water like a dog." "Really?" "But I was the best dog lapper of all the 300. I was number one." "Really? Well, what did you do after that in the battle?" "I smashed a jar, and held a torch, and blew a trumpet." "Well, but how about how many Midianites did you kill?" "None." That whole thing is a picture, as in the day of Midian's defeat. Isaiah 9 says, "You have broken the yoke that burdens and the bar across our shoulders, for unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given." Isaiah 9 says that our salvation, just like that Midianite victory. What did we do? And we got humbled. So in verse 27-29 God shames and nullifies the arrogance of man. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things, the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. This was done purposely. He doesn't need to improve the message, so it plays better in the halls of power. It's exactly what He wanted to do. III. God Shames and Nullifies the Arrogance of Man (verses 27-29) And the negative message here, is He wants to shame and nullify. That's His goal. He wants to shame human pride and nullify it, so that in the end, no one will boast before Him. Why? What does that mean? First and foremost, that we will realize, even if we were pure as light and didn't need an atoning sacrifice, we are still just creatures and He is the Creator. And so just as the holy angels, who have never sinned, cover their faces and their feet, and tremble before Him, because they're creatures and He is infinitely above them as Creator, so will we be humbled, but even more. We weren't pure. We rebelled. We were rebels. We sinned against this Holy God, and we have been redeemed by the blood of His Son, and so we should be doubly humble in His presence. So God, in order to achieve that, shows the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He rejects the ruminations of Plato, and Aristotle, and Socrates. He's not going that direction. He's going to choose you, Corinthians. He's going to choose us. And in this way, He's going to shame them, if they will not repent. Now, again, it's not "not any." There could be some of those great philosophers that could be won to Christ, so Paul did go to Mars Hill and some of them were interested. But in general, He's trying to shame them and they will... Their shaming is incomplete now. They're not ashamed. They're proud, and they're doing well, and they're succeeding, but they will be shamed in the end on Judgment Day, when millions, hundreds of millions of what they would have called nobodies, (God wouldn't call them that, but they would have called them nobodies), are going into glory, and they themselves are excluded, because of their sins. So God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth." The meek are those that are humble and lowly. They're not the fighting warrior types. They're the types that the Nazi tyrants loved, those that just kneeled down before the tyrant's sword and they get decapitated. Tyrants like the Nazis love those types. The Vikings, when they used to go up and down the coastlines marauding, they loved the monasteries, a lot of gold, not a lot of warriors. Special breed of man that was clad in linen garments and died very easily. In Japan, the Shoguns absolutely despised the Christians. They thought nothing of them, because they were a warrior class and the Christians just died like nothing. They just wilted and died. They did not respect... The Nazis, the Vikings, the Shoguns did not respect this kind of thing, but God is going to give to those meek Christians, the Earth, when all is said and done. And those mighty, godless empire builders will be shamed on Judgment Day, when they end up with nothing. IV. God’s Sovereignty in Assembling the Church of Christ (verse 30) So God assembles the Church of Christ as He sees fit. Look again in Verse 30, "It is because of Him, [because of God], that you are in Christ Jesus." This is the basis of all of your praise. When you've come together on Sunday morning, we worship. When you praise Him on Monday morning, tomorrow morning, when you praise Him, you can say, "God, I am a Christian because of you. It is because of you that I believe in Jesus." As he says in Romans 6:17, "Thanks be to God that you obey the Gospel. Thank God you obey. Thank God you believe. Thank God you repented. Thank God He chose you. " "It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus." That's what it's teaching here. Now, God does that by the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit. Look again at 1 Corinthians 2:14. I'm going to probably have you look at that verse just about every week. But there it says, "The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot accept them, because they're spiritually discerned." But if you're a Christian, that whole thing is turned around. You are a person with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has come into your life, and therefore, you do indeed accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. They are no longer foolishness to you, but they have been revealed as wisdom and power to you. That's how you see the cross. And you can understand them, because you've been healed from your mental confusion, the darkness of the mind and heart that was the essence of our sin. You've been healed from all that by the sovereign power of the Spirit, and now you have the mind of Christ, and you can see the cross properly. Thanks be to God. V. God’s Ultimate Purpose: Humble Worship from Redeemed Sinners (verses 30-31) Now, God's ultimate purpose in all this has to do with eternity. Look at Verse 30-31, "It is because of Him that you were in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord." Now, the Holy Spirit sovereignly works in our hearts, and changes us, and draws us by the hearing of the Gospel, by the hearing of the Word, like you're hearing it right now, draws us into the Kingdom. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus. And the Spirit makes you think about Christ differently, so you then realize who Jesus is to you, and Jesus has become for you, your righteousness. That's the Gospel. That's justification. Jesus is your righteousness, not your own obedience to the law or any of your good works. Jesus' obedience to the law is your righteousness. Jesus' achievement of perfect righteousness before the Father has become yours. Jesus has become for you righteousness. Not only that, He has become for you sanctification. He is your holiness, not just your positional standing of righteousness, but your progressive growth into holiness is Jesus. To God be the glory. And He also has become your redemption, not just the beginning redemption that you have stepped into, but the final vindication on Judgment Day, of all your sins redeemed. Now, He does all this, as it is written, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." Putting it simply and very humanly, God doesn't want to spend eternity listening to you or me boast about ourselves. "I'm not listening to that. I'm going to save you in such a way that you will be completely humbled when all is said and done." And God's very wise about this. And he quotes... Paul reaches for the quote in Jeremiah 9:23-24. "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, let not the strong man boast of his strength, let not the rich man boast of his wealth, but let him who boasts, boast in this, that he knows and understands Me, that I'm a God who forgives sins. I am merciful, let him who boasts, boast in Me, in that I show him mercy." God does all of this for the praise of His glorious grace, so that we'll boast in Him. Now, what does this mean to boast? God has given your mind the ability to analyze from lesser to greater, from things that are low to things that are exalted. And we have a hierarchy of greatness, of excellence, and we speak, when something hits a trigger level, we speak and we start to praise that thing, we start to boast in it. Our problem is fundamentally we think very highly of ourselves, we think we are excellent, and so we boast in ourselves, or we'll boast similarly another humans and their achievements. God wants us to boast, and He wants us to speak words of praise and greatness of God. A number of months ago I preached at Southern Seminary, and I was preaching a message. Afterwards I went out to eat with Dr. Mohler, President of Southern Seminary, and Greg Willis, a good friend of mine who's a professor of Church History there. And we went to a restaurant, ate lunch, and then after that went to a popsicle boutique, one of these high-end popsicle places, and we got gourmet popsicles. And then oddly drove to a cemetery to eat them. But Dr. Mohler has a sense of history and he just loves Cave Hill Cemetery, and we went there, and there is the grave of one of the founders of Southern Seminary, James P. Boyce. So we stood there eating popsicles and talking. And I don't know, maybe there's just an interesting wisdom there to realize some day we're all going to die. And it's especially poignant in that just diagonally across from there is Mohammad Ali's cemetery with the words, "Our service to others is the rent we pay for our room in heaven." Pure works righteousness. And I thought Ali was the quintessential self-boasting athlete, he actually led the way in saying, "I am the greatest." And so many athletes have followed. I think before that there was at least an effort at false humility. But after that, all the gloves are off with many, not all, but many just, "I am the greatest. I'm the greatest." But here's the thing, death just has the power to humble us all, and everything, every attribute we have is temporary, all of it, all of our intelligence, all of our skill, all of our money, all of our physical strength, is going to go away and we are all going to die someday. And so, someday if I know that I'm dying, and I'm on my death bed, I'm lying there and my days or my hours are coming to an end and I'm aware of it, not always the case, most people actually don't die aware that they're about to die. But if I am on my death bed, and maybe my family's with me, at that point I will not be thinking about anything except this, Christ is my righteousness, by faith, not by works, Christ is my righteousness. I will not be thinking about sanctification, I'll not be thinking about infinite journeys anymore, I'll be thinking about this, I was forgiven by faith, I was justified by faith in Christ, that's it. And anything that I achieved, any good works, it's only by the grace of God, but it really will not be on my mind at that point, I'll be trusting in Christ's death and resurrection alone for my forgiveness. VI. Applications Applications. First, just meditate on this whole thing and just ask yourself the question, "Why does God hate human boasting so much?" There's something sick about human boasting, something twisted. Imagine a vain movie star who goes to some spectacular scenery, like the Grand Canyons of the Alps, and hires somebody to hold a big mirror in front of him or her, and they spend the whole time looking at themselves. Or somebody who takes a selfie facing the wrong direction, the Grand Canyon's that way, but so enamored with what their own face looks like. Something's off there. I've been thinking about all these illustrations at this very point, I tried some out on my kids this morning, their needle didn't move much, but I'm going to give it a shot. Imagine an art expert who works as a curator of a museum, and has for a weekend a Rembrandt to put a new frame on and all that, invites all his friends over and one of them is a new painter who's taking painting lessons at the local library, and has brought his newest oil painting of a nice pastoral scene with a couple of cows, and a wooden fence. And so, there side by side is a Rembrandt and this oil painting, and the entire group spends the entire time praising the little oil painting that was done by the art student. You're like, "Something is off in your estimation." You are surrounded every moment by infinite greatness, the display of God's greatness in creation, and then as we read in Scripture, the even greater display of His greatness and redemption, so you ought to boast in God and not in anything else. So I tend to think the best way to look at this is therapy. God is healing us from a twisted perspective so that we will spend eternity boasting in God. God's not weak, He's not insecure, He doesn't need an ego trip, it's that we're sick and He wants to heal us. And He heals us, as John Piper once said, not by making much of us, but by enabling us to make much of Him for all eternity. So when you think about that, just think about how God has humbled you in salvation by choosing you before you were born, from before the foundation of the world, not based on anything He saw in you, positively. And how He saved you before you were born, two centuries before, or two millennia before you were born, by having Jesus die for your sins, and He did all of the work for you. And then you were justified by simply believing and not by any work so that no one can boast, just by grace, and that this faith that you have is not of yourselves, it's a gift of God. Ephesians 2:9, so that no one can boast, and then you begin, you roll up your sleeves and start trying to live the Christian life. Friends, how's it going? How are you doing? "Oh Pastor, we're doing great. I had a phenomenal week, I was perfect this week." Can you imagine someone saying that? So now we're in the sanctification thing, and oh, how humbling it is. And for decades we battled indwelling sin and don't do very well, and God keeps forgiving, and forgiving, and covering, and forgiving, and covering. And then finally we die, and in an instant He glorifies you and makes you just like Jesus. And you're like, "Lord, why didn't you do that when I was converted? I would have had such an awesome life." Don't give advice to God. He knows exactly what He's doing, He's humbling, humbling, humbling, humbling, and humbling you, so that you'll spend eternity boasting in the Lord. So practically, whenever you're tempted to boast in yourself or some other human achievement, stop. Boast in the Lord. Say something great about Jesus. Say something great. Next time you're in a conflict with your spouse, not that you ever have them or that I ever have them ever, but if that should ever happen, realize how much of it is based on your arrogance and your pride, and just boast in the Lord at that point, don't be prideful, don't be angry and prideful. And in terms of the gospel, let me just say something to you who are on the outside, you came in here and you are not yet converted, this gospel is for you. Yes, it's meant to humble you, but boy, it's also meant to exalt you and to bring you to Heaven and make you glorious. So I'm just appealing to you, while there's time turn away from yourself, turn away from your good works, turn away from everything you're clinging to, and trust in Christ and you will be forgiven of all of your sins. And for you evangelists, which should be all of you who are converted, as you share the gospel, do it as a form of worship. Just worship Jesus in front of some unbelievers this week, just talk about how great He is, and see what God will do. Close with me in prayer. Father, we are mindful of how arrogant we are. We are very, very proud people. And we need that pride to be leveled. I pray that You would the use Word of God to level our pride, just level it, God. Forgive us for continuing to build these towers of Babel about how great we are. Forgive us. Because it says in Isaiah 2, "Every lofty thing will be leveled, and the pride of man brought low, the Lord alone will be exalted in that day." Oh God, help the Lord alone be exalted now in our hearts. Oh God, I pray for lost people that you have brought here sovereignly, that they would turn away from their own achievements and their trusting in their money, and then their intelligence, that they would turn away and that they would trust in Christ and Him crucified as their only hope. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Who? Hello, and welcome to episode 248 of The Fantasticast. Each week, Steve Lacey and Andy Leyland guide you through every issue, guest-appearance and cameo of The Fantastic Four. This week on the show, we come to the conclusion of Bill Mantlo's run on Marvel Two-in-One. In common with a lot of his issues, he's picking up the reigns of a character rejected by the comics readership of the time, and giving him a second shot. In this case, it's Bill Foster - Black Goliath. And the Whiz Kids. But they're so unimportant that none of us recognise them. Joining us for this episode is Fantastic Four superfan and comicbook.com writer Mike Brown. He stands beside us as we examine the work of Bill Mantlo, Jim Shooter, Sal Buscema, and Pablo Marcos. Strap in, folks - the Hijacker is here, and we definitely remember him! Mike can be found on twitter as @EvrLvnBluIdThng, and you can find his interviews at comicbook.com with us here, here, and here. Send in your feedback to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com, leave your comments at the libsyn site, or at www.TheFantasticast.com. Follow us on twitter, where we are @fantasticast The Fantasticast is Patreon supported. Visit www.patreon.com/fantasticast to donate and support us. The Fantasticast is part of the Flickering Myth Podcast network. Original artwork by Michael Georgiou. Check out his work at mikedraws.co.uk Episode cover design by Samuel Savage.

A rich knowledge of history is better than creativity. Let me qualify that. A rich knowledge of history is better than creativity if your goal is to make money. The most profitable form of creativity is to repurpose the proven. Do you want to put together a group of colors that create a powerful effect? Maybe for a website or a sign or a brochure or a living room? Common sense will tell you to hire an expert. That expert will ask you to describe the feelings you want the color scheme to conjure and then he or she will aim all their education, talent and experience toward doing what has already been done by minds far greater than their own. Yes, common sense would tell you to hire a talented expert. But common sense is merely the name we give the collection of prejudices we acquire before the age of eighteen. (If you feel you've heard that statement before, it's because Albert Einstein famously said it in the 1952 book, Mathematics, Queen and Servant of the Sciences.) Common sense is overrated. An enlightened soul who has escaped the boundaries of common sense will quietly inquire of the giants whose footprints went deep into the earth, those giants whose fingerprints can be found on the hearts of billions of people they have touched. Why pay a lightweight for advice when you can consult Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh for free? (1.) Go online and select a series of world-famous paintings whose color palettes have the mojo you seek. (Mojo, by the way, is just the name we give to high-voltage emotional juju. Einstein didn't say this, but I'm pretty sure it's true, anyway.) (2.) Download only the paintings of artists who rocked the world. (3.) Import those paintings into Photoshop and sample each of the four or five principal colors. Click a couple of buttons to reveal the precise CMYK formulation of each. BAM!  Trust me, those colors will work fabulously well together. No, don't trust me. Trust the giants. Lee Iacocca was chosen as one of Ford Motor Company's ten “Whiz Kids” in 1946. But every time young Lee would go to his boss with a suggestion, his boss would say, “Show me where it has worked.” Your first impression of this man is that he was a follower, a lemming, a conformist with no courage or imagination, right? But Iacocca credits that boss as being the man responsible for all his later successes. Iacocca learned from him a pivotal lesson: if an idea is truly brilliant, you'll find examples of its successful implementation scattered throughout history. The road to bankruptcy court is flanked on both sides by bright-eyed “creative people” dripping with enthusiasm. Ask any one of them for directions. They'll make sure you get there. The secret of guaranteed success is to import a tested and reliable methodology into a business category where it has never been used. Repurpose the proven. They'll call you a brilliant creative innovator. You might even be able to patent your breakthrough. But you and I know the truth. You're merely an insightful historian. Roy H. Williams