Curmudgeon's Corner

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner Sam goes solo because Ivan is sick. First order of business, an update on Sam's car situation. He bought one. Hear all about it. Then a movie and a book. Then finally, what's going on with this latest Epstein business, and how it is tearing apart MAGA world.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-07-12 Length this week 1:52:47 0:00:51 - Car Stuff Sam Got One! Trim Level Anxiety Electric Charging Modern Features 0:42:59 - Media Stuff Movie: Why We Fight (2005) Book: And Another Thing… (2009) 1:06:41 - Epstein Stuff Nothing New? What's in the Files? MAGA Reaction Trump Reaction The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam and Ivan deviate from the usual, and actually spend the majority of the show on personal stories. First up, Ivan explains why he was unable to make it to Seattle for a meetup after all. Second up, Sam explains his adventures with car trouble and car repair. They do hit a bit of the OBBB and some random things at the end as almost an afterthought. :-)   Show Details: Recorded 2025-06-28 Length this week 2:04:30 0:00:32 - The Stories Meetup Fail Automotive Fail 1:12:42 - The Rest OBBB Passes AI Run Business The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner, Ivan and Sam discuss Iran again, negative economic signs, the New York Mayor's race and the implications thereof, and a bit about SCOTUS. Also Ivan wants to know if you would take a gamble and just sleep for the next 3-4 years to skip forward, and of course some movies.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-06-28 Length this week 2:04:30 0:00:00 - Future Sam 0:03:33 - But First Meetup! Cryosleep Bet Movie: Psycho (1960) Movie: Under Siege (1992) 0:45:46 - But Second Fordow Obliteration? Trump Peace Prize? Economic Downturn 1:17:05 - But Third NYC Mayor Race Unapologetic Approach Weak Dem Leadership 1:44:28 - But Fourth SCOTUS Meetup! Alarm The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his 

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam and Ivan recorded BEFORE Trump bombed Iran, but they give you their thoughts as of right before that. Plus a bunch of movie talk, discussion on the No Kings protests, concern about the legislative murders in Minnesota, and more!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-06-21 Length this week 1:58:16 0:00:00 - Future Sam Iran Developments Meetup Plans 0:05:30 - But First Movie: How to Train Your Dragon (2025) Coworkers and Laptops Aging Differently? Movie: The Godfather III/Coda (1990/2020) Movie: The Princess and the Frog (2010) Movies: Fast and Furious Franchise (2001-Present) 0:49:32 - Newsy Stuff Skrmetti decision (Trans rights) No Kings Protests Tempest Game Iran Situation Legislative Murders Trump Phone The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album De

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner, Ed substitutes for Ivan and talks to Sam about the benefits of the No Kings events and other events like them, as well as the Israel/Iran conflict. Plus some movie talk. And if that wasn't enough, some conversation about disposing of dead bodies. So be sure to stay for that part at the end!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-06-14 Length this week 1:57:19 0:01:36 - One TikTok Engagement No Kings Plans Boiling the Frog Protest Effectiveness 0:40:24 - Two Movie: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) Oscar Parties: Worth It Movie: X-Men (2000) Movie: Wicked (2024) 1:04:31 - Three Israel Attacks Iran Trump and Netanyahu Iranian Response Rules Based Order The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his 

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner Sam and Ivan get into Elon vs Donald and the various implications of that breakdown. But they also discuss the big beautiful bill, how Democrats are responding to everything, travel drama, bad commutes, and some other stuff too. Oh, and they do badly at a news quiz. Fun!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-06-07 Length this week 1:50:56 0:00:00 - Cold Open 0:04:01 - But First Travel Drama Commuting Pop Culture News Quiz 0:47:00 - But Second Elon vs Donald Big Beautiful Bill Democratic Strategy Hodgepodge The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam and Ivan talk movies, tariffs, and Elon. This time not just one movie, but a whole bunch of movies. And on tariffs, yes, it has been covered before. But there was new stuff this week. TACO! And Elon, what is there to say about Elon. The ineffectiveness of DOGE? The rumored throuple? Yes. All of that. And MORE!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-05-31 Length this week 1:49:19 0:01:04 - Movies Shakycams Movies: Bourne Franchise (2002-2016) Movies: Mission: Impossible Franchise (1996-2025) Movie: Crocodile Dundee (1986) 0:31:02 - Tariffs Lawsuits TACO Motivations Coming Next 1:01:23 - Elon DOGE Throuple Businesses Drugs The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner, Ivan and Sam discuss have a big mix of topics. They discuss networks, microphones, movies, Biden, and recent developments in AI. All the stuff. So not all politics this time, and they left a lot of that kind of thing on the table this time. There is enough of that all the rest of the time. So a change is nice. And you still get some Biden, so there ya go.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-05-24 Length this week 2:00:49 0:02:03 - But First CC TikTok Networks and Microphones Movie: Alice through the Looking Glass (2016) Movie: The Fan (1996) 0:36:37 - Biden The Tapper Book Revisiting 2024 Taking the Bait Joe's Cancer 1:13:55 - AI Developments Google Veo 3 Creative Implications Rouge AI Risks Relying on AI The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Break

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner Sam and Ivan are joined by Todd for an extensive conversation of the impact of Trump's tariff policies through the lens of his experience in the solar power industry. Then he sticks around for a more general conversation on reactions to Trump, and strategies for dealing with him. Plus the usual tangential side treks.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-05-17 Length this week 1:53:18 0:00:01 - Cold Open 0:04:36 - Tariff Stuff Impacts on Solar Shipping Issues Uncertainty Onshoring Governance vs PR 1:06:16 - Other Stuff Worst Case Scenarios OODA Loops New and Low Info Voters Dem Strategy Sam's Mom The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam and Ivan talk about stuff. And more stuff, then some other stuff. You know, the usual. Fine, you actually want to know some of the stuff? Thermostats. iPads. The Karate Kid. India/Pakistan. Tariffs. Supply chains. Arresting Newark's Mayor. That good enough for you?   Show Details: Recorded 2025-05-10 Length this week 1:47:30 0:01:13 - But First Thermostats iPad Air Movie: The Karate Kid (1984) 0:45:47 - India/Pakistan New Events Long History Escalations? 01:07:21 - More Stuff Non-Topics Supply Crunch Newark Mayor The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner Sam and Ivan review the first 100 days of the second Trump presidency. And that is enough of that for politics. So they also discuss social media for the first time in awhile, especially the rise of BlueSky over the last few months. Plus some on excessive employer expectations, and a movie review. Enjoy!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-05-03 Length this week 2:06:59 0:01:13 - But First Employer Expectations Movie: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) Franchise Reboots 0:41:45 - 100 Days of Trump Sam Health Update Trump by the Numbers New Air Force One 1:17:07 - Social Media Hamlet's Soliloquy BlueSky Revisited Other Options The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam needed to do the show a few days early because he is having some light outpatient surgery and didn't want to record the show with bandages on, and Ivan obliged. After chatting about that you get some of the usual Trump stuff, the Pope died, some movie discussions, and maybe there are aliens? All the sort of stuff you expect. So there it is. Enjoy!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-04-22 Length this week 1:33:04 0:01:04 - Part One Sam Having Surgery Trump Economy Again SCOTUS Speed 0:41:30 - But Second Movie: Adipurush (2023) Dubbing vs Captions Hegseth Out? 1:06:00 - But Third Pope Francis Died Next Pope? Signs of Alien Life? The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner Sam and Ivan hit the obvious Trump related economic and legal stuff. Plus movies, actors, and funerals. And a quick run through of other smaller things too. Yes, the Trump stuff dominates. How can it not? But they squeeze in some other stuff too. And you should too. There ya go.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-04-18 Length this week 2:05:44 0:03:08 - But First Funerals Liam Neeson Movie: Chinatown (1974) Movie: Margin Call (2011) 0:36:49 - Economic Stuff Sell Off Continues Possible Responses Billionaire Desires Blue Origin Flight 1:24:48 - Legal Stuff Defying SCOTUS Turning on Trump? Democratic Stance Hodgepodge The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam goes mostly solo, but Ivan does send in his thoughts on the latest tariff developments. Because of course he couldn't miss that part. Aside from the economy entering a self-inflicted death spiral, other topics include SCOTUS on Kilmar Garcia, Psych the Movie, and the perils of blindly following GPS instructions.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-04-12 Length this week 1:56:36 0:01:50 - But First No Ivan Busy Sam Movie: Psych: The Movie (2017) 0:29:52 - But Second Ivan on Tariffs Trump Backing Off Trump Inconsistency Tariff Complexity 1:09:44 - But Third SCOTUS on Kilmar Garcia Wiggle Room for Trump Due Process Following GPS The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

So, on this week's Curmudgeon's Corner, Sam and Ivan only briefly manage to talk about other things before being consumed by Trump's tariffs. From the initial announcement to the impact on the markets to the more general economic impacts to what might happen next and the political impact. All the fun stuff.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-04-05 Length this week 2:00:37 0:01:10 - Part One Folk Remedies Cutting Through Liberation Day The Formula Objectives Nervous Republicans 0:56:07 - Part Two Stock Market Tax Increases Corruption Business Impact Worst Case? Shadow Cabinet? The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner Ivan is with his family for Spring Break, so Sam fed a recent transcript of the show into ChatGPT and created IvanGPT, who cohosts this week's show instead. They talk about the obligatory Yemen Signal group thing, and the dichotomy between Activists and Politicians, but also the dangers of AI fakes, and lots more. You'd never know the cohost was an AI. Cough.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-03-28 Length this week 1:16:20 0:03:47 - But First Introducing IvanGPT Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Laptop Screen Repair 0:20:15 - But Second AI Audio Fakes Fooling People Possible Safeguards Critical Thinking 0:38:11 - But Third Yemen Signal Group Chaos Exhaustion Activists vs Politicians IvanGPT Evaluation The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast

On this week's Curmudgeon's Corner, Ivan is traveling, so Sam is joined by his wife Washington State Representative Brandy Donaghy, who gives some insights to the goings on in the State Legislature, including the current state budget issues. Plus her take on the national situation. Before that though, a review of a documentary on an old family friend.   Show Details: Recorded 2025-03-22 Length this week 1:54:31 0:01:05 - But First Brandy Not Ivan Movie: Stewart Udall: The Politics of Beauty (2021) 0:16:53 - Washington State WA Budget Crisis Spending Cuts and Taxes Other Legislation Town Halls 0:58:32 - USA National 50501 Movement Diversity Information Purge Federal Spending Cuts National Democratic Approach The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner Sam and Ivan talk about the latest Government Shutdown and related drama, and how some Democrats are rising to the moment, and others are just... not. They also discuss all the recent stock market turmoil and implications for the larger economy. Plus also how immigrants see the US, low information voters, Tesla, Musk, travel bans... and Stargate SG-1!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-03-15 Length this week 2:02:03 0:02:13 - But First Immigrant Impressions Low Information Voters Importing Authoritarianism TV: Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007) 0:47:46 - But Second Strange Coordinates Shutdown Politics Ineffective Dems Effective Dems 1:16:16 - But Third Stock Market / Economy Intentional Recession? Tesla/Musk Stuff New Travel Bans The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the

Ivan is out, so Sam brings on Ed to cohost this time, who with his medical background gives us a full helping of medical news, from the measles and bird flu outbreaks, to discussion of preventative medicine, and even Gene Hackman's death. Not everything is medical though. We also get trip reports from India and Nepal, discussion of private prisons, and Ralph Breaks the Internet!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-03-08 Length this week 1:35:55 0:00:24 - But First Ed Not Ivan India Nepal Movie: Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) 0:21:46 - But Second Gene Hackman's Death Measles Outbreak Fentanyl Trends Bird Flu 1:00:08 - But Third Private Prisons Deportations Preventative Medicine Defacing Teslas The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please buy his music and s

This week on Curmudgeon's Corner Ivan and Sam go into the Trump vs Zelenskyy spat in the Oval Office and all the downstream implications of the radical change in US foreign policy direction. Plus a discussion of how various media outlets, and the corporate world more generally are obeying in advance. But first! An outing in a fast car, and a review of the 2016 version of Ghostbusters!   Show Details: Recorded 2025-03-01 Length this week 1:41:47 0:00:43 - But First Repetitive Travel Ivan at High Speed Movie: Ghostbusters (2016) 0:31:08 - Trump vs Zelenskyy Oval Office Encounter USA's Global Role Global Chaos Economic Chaos 1:05:17 - Obeying in Advance MSNBC Shakeup Other Media Changes Non-Media Potential Violence The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch. Our intro is The Oh of Pleasure (Amazon MP3 link) Our outro is Celestial Soda Pop (Amazon MP3 link) Both are from the album Deep Breakfast (iTunes link) Please