Listener comments!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:02am max:

that zebra is just asleep...right?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:03am annie:

pinin for the fjords

Mon. 11/10/08 9:05am beet so:

who the heck are those bozzo's

Mon. 11/10/08 9:06am hangover:

MORNING. HU-HU

Mon. 11/10/08 9:11am BW:

hu-hu?? who says that? Bumble bees?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:11am C:

did anyone else see that the jersey city councilman got arrested for pissing on people at a dark star orchestra concert in dc this weekend?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:11am Parq:

RIP, Miriam Makeba.

Mon. 11/10/08 9:13am annie:

yeah parq, i just heard on weru, she played a song.. pata pata..

Mon. 11/10/08 9:13am bw:

dear C
oh yes
it is a hot topic
he rained down on the grateful dead tribute band!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:14am hangover:

drunken bumble bee.

Mon. 11/10/08 9:16am Parq:

Very interesting. Elected officials routinely piss on the voting public, but usually not literally.

Mon. 11/10/08 9:17am bw:

I think it was the music.. but according to the news, he is a regular drunk and disorderly at this place...

Mon. 11/10/08 9:18am C:

maybe the show was so good he didn't want to miss any of it. why is he coming down to dc for all his shows? does nj not book quality acts like gd tributes?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:18am cosmic:

that poor horsey

Mon. 11/10/08 9:19am GP:

Morning all.....wow Benjamin..trying to stir things up early...but really, I mean, c'mon,.....how sporting is that? Might as well shoot my pony,...I guess they did not like the black and white stripes being so intermixed like that.

Mon. 11/10/08 9:20am annie:

very likely a canned hunt, too

Mon. 11/10/08 9:20am bw:

when I was young there was a kid in my skool who was famous for pissing himself rather than lose his place at some bon jovi concert! Is there some sort of music pee connection?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:20am paw:

go Cave go! nice track BW

Mon. 11/10/08 9:21am bw:

sorry about the image.. just that Sarah Palin wasn't sure if Africa was a country or a continent.. so I typed in Alaska and Africa in google image search and this is what came up!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:22am Bad Ronald:

Steve Lipski is a douchebag!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:23am dc pat:

It wasn't that she was unsure--she flat out thought Africa was a country!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:25am rdL:

Is Sarah Palin a zebra ?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:25am bw:

here is some 411 on Josh Glenn and his wonderful book - he will join us for a few momentos at 11 am
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/10/15/the-idlers-glossary-1.html

Mon. 11/10/08 9:26am cosmic:

they look hungry, i bet they had no choice

its either that fucking horse or us, doug

Mon. 11/10/08 9:27am Parq:

Um, guys, not to say that Sarah P is anything less than a a complete moron, but you do know that Africa thing was a Borowitz piece, right?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:28am Bad Ronald:

BW - Do you have XTC's "It's nearly Africa" handy?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:29am GP:

Cool BW...I saw that book on Boing Boing ......also, in regards to Sarah..her party is dropping her into the fire...I would not be surprised if she becomes an independent soon....or even a *gasp* Democrat.

Mon. 11/10/08 9:29am max:

ben if you're interested in catching up with sarah newsweek has an incredible seven part series behind the scenes on both campaigns: http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582 really worth reading if you have a moment

Mon. 11/10/08 9:33am bw:

thanks max!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:33am bw:

bad ronald.. can't find it! grrr

Mon. 11/10/08 9:34am cosmic:

doug, did ya brung the tomato sauce?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:34am Bad Ronald:

tx anyway...

Mon. 11/10/08 9:35am PG:

Something from Miriam Makeba would be much appreciated! Maybe "Kilimanjaro"?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:37am Bad Ronald:

Diggin Low Red Center!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:44am bw:

got something comin up PG

Mon. 11/10/08 9:45am PG:

Thanks!

Mon. 11/10/08 9:45am annie:

that's great ben

Mon. 11/10/08 9:51am bw:

she had a heart attack after a concert

Mon. 11/10/08 9:52am annie:

:(

Mon. 11/10/08 9:53am Bad Ronald:

Well, at least she finished the show. Not like Entwistle...

Mon. 11/10/08 9:54am max:

that song was great, sorry to hear about it. can somebody recommend an album to start with?

Mon. 11/10/08 9:55am max:

i'm still chewing over hugh masekela, which i also found through your show ben

Mon. 11/10/08 10:06am bw:

that wasn't the Africa connection I wanted to make today folks... RIP Makeba -

Mon. 11/10/08 10:09am annie:

i was in eugene oregon when bob marley died, all over the city, wherever you went, you could hear his music. blaring from houses and businesses..

Mon. 11/10/08 10:13am cosmic:

which country are we in doug?

africa!

oh yeah.

doug, im so hungry i could eat a.. uhh

Mon. 11/10/08 10:16am Cecile:

Aw, missed Budos Band!

Who passed on recently? i can't tell from the convo.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:16am paulthepostman:

Salutations one and all, just back from...what the fuck....Bungalow Bill and his bro:(

Mon. 11/10/08 10:17am Cecile:

Hunting tigahs out in Indiah, Paul.
Out in, out in, out in Indi-yah!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:17am annie:

cecile it was miriam makeba

Mon. 11/10/08 10:19am Cecile:

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:21am annie:

after a concert

Mon. 11/10/08 10:21am stingy d:

bumble beers

Mon. 11/10/08 10:22am Cecile:

Oh, jeez.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:23am annie:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7719056.stm

i think that's a good link to bbc

Mon. 11/10/08 10:23am suzy:

yeaaa

Mon. 11/10/08 10:23am Cecile:

wow, this is scarily reminiscent of early B-52s. But with less zazz.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:23am Bad Ronald:

"Hunting Tigers":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6KHhRGVKs

Mon. 11/10/08 10:25am paulthepostman:

That pic speaks more than words dare utter, but mov'n on...

Mon. 11/10/08 10:25am Cecile:

Now, to be fair - I don't like Palin, but the McCain camp was playing kind of dirty, too.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:26am roger:

if you get her on ask her her views about the nailin palin movie

Mon. 11/10/08 10:26am Parq:

I say, J.L., it's jolly frightening out here in the jungle.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:27am Bad Ronald:

"I refuse to dress up this week"!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:27am stingy d:

not for nothin... i saw some of the nailin paylin video... you might be surprised to hear... not so entertaining

Mon. 11/10/08 10:28am bw:

stingy! did you um rent that one? or purchase?

Mon. 11/10/08 10:29am stingy d:

internet theft

Mon. 11/10/08 10:30am tommy flanagan:

i mean rent... rented it.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:30am Cecile:

AWESOME, Bad Ronald. That bonzos vid made my day.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:31am Cecile:

"Im not shaking, I'm doing the shimmy!"

Mon. 11/10/08 10:32am Bad Ronald:

Glad to hear it Cecile, I'm a huge fan too!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:32am Cecile:

Can you play Scorpio by Grandmaster Flash?

Mon. 11/10/08 10:33am Cecile:

"hunting tigers" is the mister's and my song.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:35am Parq:

Cecile, how damn marvelous! Did you have it performed at your wedding? (I am assuming that you and the "mister" are in fact married; if not, never mind.)

Mon. 11/10/08 10:35am stingy d:

how abotu some early rammellzee... not beat bop though.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:36am stingy d:

yo parq-- personal space.. cut it out

Mon. 11/10/08 10:38am paulthepostman:

Parq, keep your pith helmet on at all cost

Mon. 11/10/08 10:38am Cecile:

No, I didn't have it performed at our wedding. Although we did have a good friend play ukelele on my mom's front porch. He performed a mix of ragtime, bad filk songs, and was just generally amatuerishly great.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:38am Parq:

Sorry. I'll be good. [Winks in Cecile's direction] Hey, for some reason, I've got Inflatable Boy Clams' "Skeletons" stuck in my head this morning. Damn sight better than when I hear some LCD crap in the deli and have *that* stuck in my head all morning.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:39am Cecile:

We picked it mostly because we liked to sing it in the car together, and the alternative was "Nights in White Satin". Ugh.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:39am Cecile:

Parq, oh your trials and tribulations. Uh huh huh.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:40am annie:

hey cecile, did you get any homework done??

Mon. 11/10/08 10:42am Doug in D.C.:

Bad Ronald - If Lipski is a regular at 9:30, then, yes, he's probably a d-bag.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:42am Cecile:

I started reading the compost stuff and the usual fear arose.
I think, though, I may try the wire cage match version of the compost bin.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:43am annie:

cool, i'm just decding this week which to use, i think i'm going with two. one for the house and one closer to the garden for "finishing off"

Mon. 11/10/08 10:44am Swami:

I ain't marchin anymore? Beefheart style?

Mon. 11/10/08 10:45am annie:

i'll be emailing you anyway

Mon. 11/10/08 10:45am stingy d:

i hear captain beefheart got the name captain beefheart because his uncle referred to his (uncle's) penis as "captain beefheart".

Mon. 11/10/08 10:45am Cecile:

That makes sense. I'm working on a much smaller scale.

Hurray, Captain Beefheart!

Cool!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:46am cosmic:

hhey! captain beefheart!! yeah!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:47am Cecile:

Wow, stingy.
I just though Don was way into anticuchos.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:48am paulthepostman:

BR, nice to see the bonzo's coming out in India! Btw, several years ago - 40 in fact - I met Mr Slater's Parrott.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:51am Bad Ronald:

"Allo"

Pulling stiff shirts, hanging w/Mrs. Slater's parrot - man you get around Pthe P!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:51am stingy d:

its within reason that i heard a rumor or a general falsehood... but anyway, bust how i'm going to fish's eddy and then going home and makign arepas.... in like 7 hours.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:52am Cecile:

Arepas are teh awesome!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:53am Bad Ronald:

No work today Stingy? What are you gonna pick up at Fishes Eddy?

Mon. 11/10/08 10:53am dc pat:

Beefheart: I read he dropped out of school in 2nd grade and never went back.
Compost: I use a galvanized steel trash can w/ holes punched in it. Rat-proof.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:54am Cecile:

DCP, that sounds good. Where do you punch the holes?

Mon. 11/10/08 10:54am annie:

yeah pat, i'm leaning towards that, we are on top of a mountain, want to avoid critters.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:55am stingy d:

yea i have work... but i am in need of some stuff... a roommate moved out and took some liberties with the kitchen items.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:56am Bad Ronald:

Damn, that sucks!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:56am annie:

geez, stingy what do you want? i have stuff out opf my house i want to get rid of

Mon. 11/10/08 10:56am stingy d:

defnitely need just one of these...
http://www.fishseddy.com/browse.cfm/4,1728.html

Mon. 11/10/08 10:57am paulthepostman:

Yeah, I know. The parrot was Slater's dads; he was our local athletic club's president and the parrot was not dead!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:57am dc pat:

Cecile/Annie: Punch holes all over the freakin place with a nail but not the lid. My current one needs more because they get plugged up w/ worms and such. The rats are my big concern but our cat eats most of 'em.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:57am stingy d:

i really wanted glasses with naked tiki girls... but i need a little of everything.... especially knives and a can opener.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:58am Bad Ronald:

PtheP - Did you get a chance to meet Viv?

Mon. 11/10/08 10:58am Cecile:

Get a Swing Away opener. You will never be sorry.

Thanks, Pat!

Mon. 11/10/08 10:58am annie:

sorry, i brought the tiki glasses with me ;)

Mon. 11/10/08 10:59am Ken:

Parq - Not to beat a dead horse, (like *some* people), but Borowitz was not the source of Palin not knowing that Africa was a country. That came from Fox News, citing unnamed McCain aids, as reported on the O'Reilly Factor. Palin herself came close to repeating it later herself even while trying to deny i t.

Mon. 11/10/08 10:59am paulthepostman:

Gary Newman meets the bonzos, wooo

Mon. 11/10/08 11:00am paulthepostman:

Gary Newman meets the bonzos, wooo

Mon. 11/10/08 11:01am stingy d:

what makes a can opener a swing away? as far as i'm concerned you are telling me to get a can opener that is not electric... i'm confused.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:01am Bad Ronald:

IGGY!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:01am Parq:

Thanks for the heads-up, Ken. Borowitz is not the first to learn the futility of trying for way-out political satire in these times.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:01am dc pat:

Yeah I thought it came from Fox news -- HOLY SHIT, IGGY!!! This song/album rules!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:01am cosmic:

IGGY!! what a set

Mon. 11/10/08 11:02am ATQ:

love this song!!!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:02am Ken:

Best boredom song ever: Destroy All Monsters, "Bored." In the CD library under D. With Asheton brothers..

Mon. 11/10/08 11:02am Cecile:

Swing away brand non-electric can opener. Swing Away is the brand. they last forever.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:03am Cecile:

I think the Short Fuses had a great song about boredom.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:03am dc pat:

I never understood electric can openers--my parents were so in to theirs. I would think you only need one of those if you were missing an arm.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:03am Bad Ronald:

I think "African Man" is on this LP...

Mon. 11/10/08 11:03am Cecile:

You can never get them as clean as you like. Once my mom discovered the Swing Away, she never looked back

Mon. 11/10/08 11:03am dc pat:

Right you are Bad R.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:03am stingy d:

yea i got two complete arms. so i will be on the lookout for a swing away brand can opener.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:04am annie:

my favorite can opener is the little camp-size one. i'm the only one that liked it so it never got lost or stolen

Mon. 11/10/08 11:04am Cecile:

good for you!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:05am paulthepostman:

NOW now, BR!. But once, a mates girlfriend ran off with Stanshal's son to live in a light-house on the east coast!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:05am stingy d:

idling? why's he lettign the car run for?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:06am cosmic:

hes talking bout doing it

Mon. 11/10/08 11:06am Cecile:

shiftless when I'm idle

Mon. 11/10/08 11:06am dc pat:

What about the Boredoms. Greatest band EVER.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:07am cosmic:

im scared to be on my own with my thoughts because theyre so funny ill kill myself

Mon. 11/10/08 11:08am stingy d:

i could idle some sea drums out this radio show. ya heard. wait ... meta philosophical! gimme a hand brake.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:08am Cecile:

dcp, I must concur.

cosmic, you'll die laughing?

Where can I find this book? It sounds great.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:09am stingy d:

aphorisms are those tiny bugs right?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:09am bzul:

MICKY
But if there's a God, then wh-why
is there so much evil in the world?
(shrugging)
What-- Just on a simplistic level.
Why-why were there Nazis?

MOTHER
(offscreen in the bathroom)
Tell him, Max.

FATHER
(offscreen)
How the hell do I know why there
were Nazis? I don't know how the
can opener works.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:10am Bob Dobbs:

Achieve total slack!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:10am cosmic:

ive got some procrastinating to do, ill have another tea ang then ill start

Mon. 11/10/08 11:10am stingy d:

hey bob! how the hell are ya!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:11am uhoh:

this guy should remember the deinition of SLACK from the church of the subgenius

Mon. 11/10/08 11:12am annie:

it would explain how i can get so much done here.. i have no work, therefore i build..

Mon. 11/10/08 11:12am Bob Dobbs:

Well my friend well, is it pronounced stinGy or stinJy?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:13am annie:

............obviously making sure to think it all out by sitting on the couch ar listening to the radio

Mon. 11/10/08 11:13am cosmic:

cecile- yeah! ill do myself the last damage!

laying in bed is lazy

Mon. 11/10/08 11:14am dc pat:

he's like a bee, he stings a lot so he's sing-ee

Mon. 11/10/08 11:14am stingy d:

stingy d like anthony mason... don't give up much on the defensive end.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:14am Doug in DC:

I loaf and invite my soul...

Mon. 11/10/08 11:15am stingy d:

hahaha he just called boston a city.... what a maroon!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:15am cosmic:

i love my work, i still piss about and distract myself!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:15am uh oh:

I idle, therefore I am

Mon. 11/10/08 11:16am cosmic:

ill read this book later

Mon. 11/10/08 11:17am stingy d:

yea this actually sounds like somethign i want to read. plug it again so i can write down the name.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:17am shmurf:

ill finish typing this later

Mon. 11/10/08 11:17am Carmichael:

I work best with deadlines I can miss.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:17am Eric Idle:

I've Idled all my life an it's paid off!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:18am cosmic:

i even put off doing it later

Mon. 11/10/08 11:18am stingy d:

wamp wamp waaaaaaa

Mon. 11/10/08 11:18am Joshua Glenn:

idleness: "Idleness so called, which does not consist in doing nothing, but in doing a great deal not recognized in the dogmatic formularies of the ruling class, has as good a right to state its position as industry itself," insisted a young Robert Louis Stevenson. Idleness [from the Old English word for "useless," which came to mean "lazy"] may involve lying in bed... but it can also involve a great deal of concentrated effort. That's because idleness is not (unlike slackness), the opposite of "work," but is instead a hard-won mode of existence in which whatever one does is an act of creativity. See: FREE TIME, IDLER, INDOLENT, LEISURELY, USELESSNESS, WAITING FOR GODOT.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:19am bw:

thanks Josh!

that was fun

Mon. 11/10/08 11:19am Michael Palin:

Michael Palin, were NOT related.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:20am cosmic:

the truth is i cant be arsed to be lazy

Mon. 11/10/08 11:20am manny ramirez:

i messed some of that-it sounded good. what was the book?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:20am bzul:

"It takes character to withstand the rigours of indolence."
(Referring to Prince of Wales in The Madness of King George)

Mon. 11/10/08 11:20am annie:

i get my best work done staring out the window.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:20am Joshua Glenn:

Thanks for listening, Stingy D and everyone else. Here in the CITY of Boston we miss Ben's old WZBC show a lot. Ben asked me to post more definitions from The Idler's Glossary (Biblioasis), so I will do so.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:21am John Lydon:

I'm a lazy sod!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:21am uh oh:

i have A_D_D so Idleness is my normal state

Mon. 11/10/08 11:21am Joshua Glenn:

PS: The book is coauthored by me (Joshua Glenn) and Mark Kingwell. The cartoonist Seth designed and illustrated it.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:21am annie:

hey josh, tell jeremy at the tea house i said hi

Mon. 11/10/08 11:22am John of Leyden:

I abolished time!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:22am Ken:

Stingy D - can you email me off-playlist at ken at wfmu dot org? Somethin I have to ask you.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:22am cosmic:

ive even been for therapy for procrastination- today!

aw now nobody knows if im joking

Mon. 11/10/08 11:22am Bernie Mac:

I had a lazy eye!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:23am stingy d:

too soon bernie

Mon. 11/10/08 11:23am Parq:

People in Boston hardly ever even think about New York. And they will tell you that every chance they get. And you will see it at least once a day somewhere in a page one piece in the Globe. And every Boston souvenir shop sells tee-shirts that say it. And . . .

Mon. 11/10/08 11:23am Joshua Glenn:

idler: "There are plenty of lazy people and plenty of slowcoaches, but a genuine idler is a rarity," writes idling expert Jerome K. Jerome. "He is not a man who slouches about with his hands in his pockets. On the contrary, his most startling characteristic is that he is always intensely busy." Despite the dictionary definition, then, although the idler might not "work" in any recognizable fashion, he is neither shiftless nor lazy. His energies, having been freed from the merry-go-round of the working life, are channeled into the pursuit of wisdom and pleasure. See: IDLENESS, OTIOSE.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:23am dc pat:

stingy is about to get spanked again.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:23am Pivi:

I really dont get the idea of "self-help"-books.. cous, when you need a book written by someone else to get better, its not really self-help.. is it?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:24am Joshua Glenn:

free time: Free time, in the sense of "freedom to," is electrifying and beautiful. Free time in the sense of "freedom from," however, is merely restful and relaxing. The former is another way of saying "leisure" or "idleness," that state of being in which actions are performed for their own sake; the latter is another way of saying "vacation," or "recess," which are simply those scheduled (and mandated) periods during which work is suspended, so we androidized human beings can recharge our batteries. The former, then, is true freedom; the latter, slavery under the guise of freedom. See: IDLENESS, LEISURELY, RECESS, RECUPERATE, RELAX, VACATION, WORK.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:24am Bad Ronald:

Stingy - What'd you do now?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:24am stingy d:

never heard of this "boston"

Mon. 11/10/08 11:24am GP:

Love Holly's voice..thanks BW.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:25am dc pat:

People in DC all wish they lived somewhere else...like New York.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:25am Joshua Glenn:

Cosmic, this one is for you.

procrastinator: Procrastination in artists, muses the great literary critic Cyril Connolly, "is always a symptom of an acute inner conflict... all true artistic indolence is deeply neurotic; a pain not a pleasure." In the procrastinator [from the Latin for "put forward until tomorrow"] that lamentable failure of body and will which is languor, or torpor, becomes inextricably imbricated with artistic perfectionism. It can be impossible, however—for anyone, including the procrastinator—to tell these apart. See: LANGUID, LAZY, TORPID.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:25am bzul:

What is the sound of one self helping?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:25am Bad Ronald:

You can get banned for dissing a city or band?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:26am Cecile:

uh oh, I'm ADD as well, the femme dreamy, distracted version. *stares at ceiling*

Pivi, a good self help is like buying a good crochet instruction book. It gives you the basic projects and stitches, but it's up to you to start making the scarves and hats.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:26am Cecile:

book I meant

Mon. 11/10/08 11:26am stingy d:

i may have proposed the idea that boston is somehow not a city... what do people do in boston? watch whales? no wonder they write books about idling... it takes time awa from pocking all those damned cahs

Mon. 11/10/08 11:27am dc pat:

dammit... just missed Holly and gang. I was too sleepy to go out...

Mon. 11/10/08 11:27am Joshua Glenn:

Amazon page for The Idler's Glossary:
http://tinyurl.com/5dffdo

Mon. 11/10/08 11:29am Joshua Glenn:

Bob Dobbs and uhoh -- I do reference the Church of the Subgenius...

slackness: Not to be confused with Lin Yutang's notion of "The Noble Art of Leaving Things Undone," slackness [from the same Latin word for "loose" which gives us "languish" and "relaxation"] refers to a blameworthy lack of due or necessary diligence, precision, or care. It's one thing not to care about work which is forced upon you, but an apathetic response to the prospect of any kind of sustained effort whatsoever is something else entirely. Despite the Church of the Subgenius's attempt to appropriate this word for idlers and skivers, then, "slack" ought to go on being used as a synonym for "lazy." See: APATHETIC, BLASÉ, COMPLACENT, LAZY, SLACKER.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:29am Cecile:

thanks, josh.
I always say the American workplace lost out when workplaces lost their charming "underperformers "- the guys who always made sure to bring a box of donuts once a week, and kept cracking you up with stupid jokes. I'd rather one of those dudes than 1000 consultants.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:31am Joshua Glenn:

Cecile, I worked for several years, until this past June, at The Boston Globe. Let me reassure you, the underperformers are still with us! I didn't bring any donuts in, but I spent a LOT of time walking around...

Mon. 11/10/08 11:31am bzul:

"1000 consultants" is as winceworthy as the harshest imaginable profanity.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am Joshua Glenn:

Loving this Sol Hoopi tune, Ben! I have to post my definition of Ukulele-Iked.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am Cecile:

LOL!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am stingy d:

in all honesty though... i do appreciate the collective of like-minded individuals comign together day by day and fostering a coomunity in which we can freely express our ears and desires, and i say this from my heart.... you pain in the ass you! get back in the truck, and deliver those sweaters! lahd and taylor ah gonna be wicked pissed!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am annie:

they perform a n important role... morale booster in the form of the court jester

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am Cecile:

bzul, I chose my words carefully.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am Joshua Glenn:

Ukulele-Iked: Before musician Cliff Edwards became a character actor (and the voice of Pinocchio's Jiminy Cricket), he performed under the pseudonym Ukulele Ike. His wistfully happy plinking has rendered many a person—including, in particular, a friend of the author of this glossary—absolutely paralyzed by beauty and emotion. See: DO-NOTHING, INACTIVE, INDOLENT, VOLUPTÉ.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:32am cosmic:

cheers joshua, my job is an artist- did you guess or...?

i have real probs with the p. but then again its the same energy as when its all happening and im 'in it'. in the element and creating.

ill probably sort it out one day.

that WAS a joke.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:33am annie:

and the court jester actually, in any form of"the fool" had to be the smartest to know how the dance was played..

Mon. 11/10/08 11:34am Cecile:

Exactly, Annie. The modern court jester knows exactly how much effort to expend to keep their pension, and yet not strain themselves.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:35am Joshua Glenn:

200 comments -- wish I could take credit for all of 'em. Nice one, Ben!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:36am annie:

cecile, word ...i adopt this knowledge watching morris dancers..

Mon. 11/10/08 11:36am Joshua Glenn:

Here's one last definition. Very timely, like it or not.

unemployed: "I know, of course, how important it is not to keep a business engagement," remarks one of Wilde's characters, "if one wants to retain any sense of the beauty of life." To be unemployed doesn't just mean "not engaged in a gainful occupation"; it also means, etymologically, "not being used": Keep that in mind. See: QUIT, TRUANT, WORK.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:37am Cecile:

AWESOME! I am all about the mall remote.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:37am Joshua Glenn:

Amazon page for The Idler's Glossary:
http://tinyurl.com/5dffdo

Mon. 11/10/08 11:38am stingy d:

my professional title is "experimental orthographer" in case you were wondering.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:38am bzul:

If 1000 meters is a kilometer and 1000 grams is a kilogram, 1000 consultants is a a kill-a-soul or a kill-a-buzz.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:39am bzul:

..though they be plenty comical, too.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:39am cosmic:

stingy, wassatt then?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:42am GP:

Stingy..I like the way you thnik...expescially the eggsperimental part.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:43am stingy d:

i make lists of words, mispelled and otherwise. and give them to clients. its kinda great because i look at potica and shit like that all day and just figure out reasonable ways to describe it. meta data... nonsense... they asked me for a title of my job (because i created this division)... and thats it.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:43am Ken:

Stingy, insult Boston to your heart's delight. Just don't run out of meds. And email me.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:44am Joshua Glenn:

Stingy -- "meta data"! Give me a hand brake.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:44am ok...:

it was all a don rickles impression... can i blame him? whats your emai;?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:45am Bad Ronald:

Ahhhh, it's the pills!!!!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:45am stingy d:

ha - zinged me

Mon. 11/10/08 11:46am Joshua Glenn:

Your job sounds cool, Stingy. Tell us more.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:46am stingy d:

haha... i am still grinning like a lunatic over that one.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:47am gerald:

ça c'est du rock du vrai c'est pas de la rigolade ton truc là !!

(nicolas sarkozy sucks!)

Mon. 11/10/08 11:48am Carmichael:

The lunatic fringe .... I know you're out there.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:48am Ken:

Here's what stingy does I think.. he compiles lists of misspellings that must be of interest to certain parties... take me for example..

Mon. 11/10/08 11:49am Ken:

It burns me up no end that people constantly refer to WFMU as WMFU.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:49am stingy d:

i'm taking it that this is ken the station manager?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:50am Ken:

So if I had enough money I would buy all the WMFU domains out there... but some companies have 1000 terms like that to worry about..

Mon. 11/10/08 11:50am dc pat:

Great set. God I love WMFU!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:50am Dogu ni CD:

WUMF?

Mon. 11/10/08 11:51am Liz B.:

Please please let us change WXHD's call letters to WMFU!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:51am Ken:

WUMF is not a concern. WMFU is. No radio station has those letters due to the motherfucker connotation. just google WMFU and you'll see what I mean.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:53am Ken:

Liz, that is the actual solution. And Stingy D's solution is a big needle of fentanyl popped right into his spinal column. actually that's the solution to everything.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:54am Mark Kingwell:

Sorry I'm late to the list -- been sleeping in. Josh and I hope you like The Idler's Glossary. It is stocking-sized for easy stuffing!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:54am Cecile:

the NPR station in our hometown was WGGL.
W - We've
G - Got
G - Good
L - Legs
I am told it was the least filthy acronym they could come up with. Of course it's at Michigan Tech University, which until the mid-90s was known as a place where "men were men, women were scarce, and sheep were nervous"

Mon. 11/10/08 11:55am Bad Ronald:

Wow, Stingy has gone from villain to hero!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:56am GP:

Ken,
WMFU = W muther****kin U!!! Yeah baby!!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:56am stingy d:

whewf... ken knows me too well apparantly... i feel all melty suddenly

Mon. 11/10/08 11:56am stingy d:

whewf... ken knows me too well apparantly... i feel all melty suddenly

Mon. 11/10/08 11:56am Cecile:

I sense a bromance a brewin'

Mon. 11/10/08 11:56am Bad Ronald:

Take that Frangry!

Mon. 11/10/08 11:57am GP:

Dangit, Ken missed your earlier comment....auto-update running slow today..as am I.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:58am stingy d:

i made nice with andy and frangry

Mon. 11/10/08 11:59am stingy d:

ken... seriously lets inject drugs sometime, Bro.

Mon. 11/10/08 11:59am Bad Ronald:

Oh man, you're losing your edge...

Mon. 11/10/08 11:59am dc pat:

Last comment! OOW OOH!

Tue. 11/11/08 4:19pm Andi Arroganti:

Krank und pervers, erhh?
Andi

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