In keeping with the spirit of our recent Tour of Kansas City episode, I was pleasantly surprised to see this video this morning:

A local’s thoughts on this:

• Yes, local public transit sucks – especially if you’re outside of the core of the city. You may have heard recently that the local transit authority instituted free bus fare, and that’s a good thing. (And, yes, while the streetcar is cool, it is – as of this post – very much limited to between Union Station and the River Market. As they point out, that will change in coming years with two planned expansions – one north to the Riverfront Park area, and the other south through Midtown, Westport, and the Plaza to the UMKC campus.)
• He’s also not lying about how spread out everything is. As I said in the Tour of KC episode, the city itself is spread across three counties, and the metro area itself is five counties (seven at a stretch) straddling two states.
• As a Kansas City local, you have my permission to rip on the local teams.
  • As I have mentioned already in the Luke and Dan episode, as well as the Tour of KC episode, Major League Baseball belongs Downtown, not 7 miles away on the fringes of suburbia. The Royals need to be Downtown, and I am happy to see that the team’s new owner, John Sherman, is at the very least open to moving the team to where they truly belong.
  • It is a well established fact that I have a strong dislike of the local NFL team, so please feel free to rip on them at will.
  • There are certain “local” college teams that deserve to be ripped on as well. I say “local” because none of the schools I’m alluding to are in the Kansas City metro area proper.
  • In fact, only 1 of the over 300 NCAA Division I schools actually calls Kansas City home – and it’s the school that gave me a degree, which happens to be at the south end point of that aforementioned streetcar extention.
  • You also already know my thoughts on the local soccer scene. Please refer to our episode on independent soccer and #ProRelForUSA.
• As I said in the Tour episode, it is never worth it to spend an hour standing in line just to get lunch. Especially if you’re only given 30 minutes for lunch (as I was while working at Silpada).
• Guess who also mentioned all three of those museums – Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial – in a recent Tour of KC podcast? We did.

Otherwise, it’s all good.

Episode 28 of This Podcast Is… Uncalled For

Click here to download and listen.

Let’s f@#$ing do this.

In 2013, Emerson Rapp – a film friend of Mike’s – did a comedic short film “Tour of Kansas City,” where he runs into a tourist couple and gives them a quick tour of the area – complete with a lot of barbeque.

Today, Mike looks back on this film (which he had nothing to do with) and tries to put a lot more context into it for podcast purposes.

“Check, Please! Kansas City” – a local restaurant review show produced by KCPT. This particular episode features Rosedale Barbecue, which was recommended by Mike’s KCPT internship supervisor Matt McClelland.

This is picanha, which Mike mentioned was done at a Brazilian restaurant in the River Market.

References to past podcast episodes:

• Trevor Martin (Minsky’s and 18th and Vine)
• Thoughts on Being an Ex-Mormon (LDS sites in the metro)
• Thoughts on Independent Soccer and #ProRelForUSA (Sporting Park)

Music:

• Intro music: “Fantasia Fantasia” by Kevin MacLeod
• Outro music: “The Strip” by Mela

Episode 27 of This Podcast Is… Uncalled For

Click here to download and listen.

Today is the first time we’ve used Blog Talk Radio for our podcasting needs.

Jered Feldman is one of Mike’s old high school friends who shares three distinct experiences with Mike:

• They met in geometry class during Mike’s freshman year (Jered was a sophomore).
• Both were involved in Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC).
• Both played wide receiver and defensive back on the SMW Vikings football team.

Jered also talks about his having been in a coma for two weeks in 1998 – a period of time that saw Mike visit him in the hospital every day.

Jered is now living in Springfield, Missouri (hence the need to call it in) and recently had a child.

Links:

• ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) – a standardized test required for US military enlistment
• Wikipedia for Henri Childs (the only member of that SM West football team to go pro)
• Wikipedia for Henry Childs (Henri’s father, who passed away in 2016)
• Hampton Roads – the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area on the Virginia coast, where Mike did his NJROTC trip in 1995
• The Hope Diamond – Mike took a (non-flash) photo of this on his 1995 Norfolk-Washington NJROTC trip (sadly, the photo is long lost)
• NAS Oceana – located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, site of Mike’s first experience with veal parmesan

Music:

• Intro music: “Fantasia Fantasia” by Kevin MacLeod
• Transition music: “Morocco Sting” by Kevin MacLeod
• Outro music: “Roadtrip (CB 37)” by Checkie Brown

You’ve heard Mike’s (as Gob Broflovski) version of the Aristocrats joke. Now it’s time to hear an actual comedian tell a version.

Of all the comedians that were featured in the Aristocrats documentary, we feel that Gilbert Gottfried’s version is the most entertaining. So, here it is:

Episode 26 of This Podcast Is… Uncalled For

Click here to download and listen.

Today we do Mike’s Top 10 movies. This is a tough list as there can only be 10.

1. Clerks
2. Fight Club
3. In Bruges
4. Cool Runnings
5. Serenity
6. The Caine Mutiny
7. Act Naturally
8. Throw Momma From The Train
9. The Aristocrats (complete with an Aristocrats joke courtesy of Mike’s talent agent character Gob Broflovski)
10. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Music:

• Intro music: “Fantasia Fantasia” by Kevin MacLeod
• Transition music: “Morocco Sting” by Kevin MacLeod
• Background music: “Secret of Tiki Island” by Kevin MacLeod
• Outro music: “Sand Dweller” by Metre

Click here to listen and download our trailer.

Click here to see our Indiegogo page and (hopefully) donate!

About this project

For the 2020 Kansas City Fringe Festival, we would like to record a few interview episodes of This Podcast Is… Uncalled For LIVE in front of an audience.

We will line up between 5 and 10 guests to bring onto the podcast – mostly brand new guests but we will welcome some returning guests from the first two seasons of the podcast.  No topic is off limits, and there will be an opportunity for audience interaction.

What we need to do this

The application fee for a small venue performance is $300, and needs to be paid no later than February 15, 2020.  While we can try to pay for it out of pocket, life and expenses get in the way.

That’s where you come in.

With your donation, you will receive a special thanks in our show notes, on our programs, and may get a shout out during one of our live sessions.

We do plan on filming all of our performances, and the audio will absolutely be part of our podcast.

Other ways you can help

We understand that some people just can’t contribute, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help:

• Please get the word out about this campaign.
• Please use the Indiegogo share tools!

This will be a unique opportunity, one that I look forward to sharing with the fine folks in our hometown of Kansas City.

Click here to download and listen.

We have a very special bonus for you today.

In today’s very special remix of the 500 Unique Downloads Livestream, Mike included a song he recorded between 1999 and 2000 while studying MIDI music composition.

The song is called “Laura” and can be best described as experimental electronica.

We thought we would make the song available as a bonus download of the podcast. So, enjoy!

Photo by Jacob Prose from Pexels

Episode 25 of This Podcast Is… Uncalled For

Click here to download and listen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To celebrate, we are releasing the audio from the livestream we did to celebrate 500 unique downloads.

• Intro: “Fantasia Fantasia” by Kevin MacLeod
• Transition 1: “Laura” by Mike Czerniewski
• Transition 2: “Brickfield Nights” by Duncan Reid and the Big Heads
• Outro: “Samurai Spirit” by The Kyoto Connection

There are so many things to reference in the recent episode with Luke and Dan that they need their own separate post. So, here it is:

• Amazon Flex – Luke and Dan both do this
• H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation – Osceola, MO
• Chick-fil-A – aka “Jesus Chicken”
• Delta Force on IMDB
• Doordash
• Drivers Sports Cafe – regular hangout of Mike and his family
• The Flutie Brothers Band – featuring Doug Flutie
• “Juicy Lucy” – a type of burger that Luke asked if it’s similar to Wahlburgers’ Our Burger (they’re not similar)
• Kansas City Brass
• Maradona soccer drill – named for Diego Maradona
• Mr. Gyros – Greek restaurant in Downtown OP
• Nebraska Furniture Mart – Dan works there now
• Omaha Steaks
• Sheraton Overland Park
• Sous Vide Everything – YouTube channel (Mike is a fan)
• Spuds MacKenzie
• Texas Roadhouse
• Uber – Mike thought of that, but they require the car be less than 10 years old
• Wahlburgers – Mike highly recommends the Our Burger (with bacon added)
• Westin Crown Center
• Wyandotte Sporting Fields

Dan was not aware that after initially doing away with it in 2016, Playboy re-introduced nudity in 2017. Barnes and Nobel may actually be carrying it anyway (yeah, they’re not – at least the B&N in Independence, MO isn’t).

Internal Podcast References:

• Episode 2 – Trevor Martin – Dave Berry’s passing is mentioned in connection with the lung cancer walk Mike participated in
• Episode 3 – Adam McKeith – Adam talks about meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger and the video where he got “drop kicked”; we also discussed Bruce Lee creating Jeet Kune Do
• Episode 4 – Tim Crippen – The first mention of Silpada Designs and “Beau jobs” on the podcast (Tim, like Luke and Dan, was also a Silpada employee)
• Episode 6 – Matt Sewell – Mike revisits his meeting (now Representative) Sharice Davids
• Episode 9 – Thoughts on the NFL and St. Louis
• Episode 10 – Ty Gephardt – Mike talks a little about his KCPT internship
• Episode 11 – Thoughts on Being an Ex-Mormon – Talking about Independence being the Mormon Garden of Eden
• Episode 14 – Thoughts on Independent Soccer and #ProRelForUSA – Mentions of Santa Fe Wanderers
• Episode 18 – Stories That Would Otherwise Be Left Untold – Mike’s brother’s intentional avoidance of south Tulsa is mentioned here
• Episode 21 – Conrado Salazar – Mike and Conrado actually drove by Bark, a bar for dog owners near Riverfront Park. To quote Conrado, “And the dog takes you back home.”
• Episode 23 – Why I Am (Now) A Cards Fan

Mike’s revelations:

• Mike’s last pet was an Asian box turtle named Boxly, who passed away in summer 1995.
• Getting thrown into the pool while on Boy Scout summer camp staff (in 1995).
• Mike uses a flip phone.
• Mike hangs out at public libraries all the time, especially before having to go into work.
• Mike did MMA training and has studied two varieties of karate (Kenpo and Bushidokan).
• Mike’s 2019 fantasy football quarterback is indeed Patrick Mahomes.
• Mike is the subject of a very embarrassing football moment in 1996, when his SMW Vikings played Olathe East. That video will never be seen on this blog.
• Among the NFL players Mike met as a result of working as a security officer: Dwight Freeney, Sammy Knight, and the 2005 Washington NFL team.
• Mike can’t drive stick. The main issue: he can’t figure out the whole clutch thing; as a result, the car goes nowhere, resulting in “We’re basically just charging people to park their own cars.”
• Mike bought his glasses at Target.
• Mike could never live in a rural area or anywhere where the locals don’t know the word “venue.”
• Mike pulls for these college teams: UMKC (his alma mater), Duke, Notre Dame, Florida State
• Mike strongly dislikes these college teams: KU, UNC, Oral Roberts
• The progression of Mike’s cars:
  • 1997 – 2002 Toyota Corolla (this car was not mentioned in the episode)
  • 2002 – 2016 Ford Windstar (this is what Luke was asking about)
  • 2016 – 2018 Oldsmobile Intrigue
  • 2018 – present Hyundai Sonata

Oh, and that 2005 USC-Notre Dame game that Mike referenced? USC did indeed win the game 34-31 – but later vacated the win because of the school’s Reggie Bush controversy.

In our upcoming episode with Luke and Dan, another restaurant is brought up: Wahlburgers! While he can’t eat there all of the time, Mike is a fan of the Wahlberg brothers’ burger joint – specifically their Olathe location, which is (as of this post) the only Wahlburgers in the Kansas City area.

As will be mentioned in the episode, Mike has tried all three of their signature burgers – each one was given its own video by the restaurant (and we will share them with you now):

The Our Burger (aka the Chef Paul burger) – made with 1/3 pound burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, government cheese (think American cheese), wahl sauce (similar to McDonald’s Big Mac sauce but much smoother and spicier – and perfect for dipping tater tots into), and pickles. This is Mike’s favorite of the three, and he likes to add bacon to it (by the way, they are more than okay with custom orders).

The BBQ Bacon Burger (aka the Donnie burger) – made with 1/3 pound burger, white cheddar cheese, bacon, jalapeños, BBQ sauce, and avocado spread. Mike is allergic to avocado, so this is one where customizing the order is needed – in this case, swap the avocado for wahl sauce.

The Thanksgiving Turkey Burger (aka the Marky Mark burger) – made with 1/4 pound turkey burger, stuffing, mayo, orange-cranberry sauce, and roasted butternut squash. Have this one as is, because it tastes exactly like a Thanksgiving dinner.