Comments: Call me Ishmael" Our Moby Dick's name here is Leder!
Fishing for Catfish
3 Married Men
Shep talks about talking with a ham radio friend that had been talking with a group in Antartica that knew Shep. They arranged to talk tomorrow night at 1am. Shep then asks for a listener to call in to yell "Excelsior" over the phone which he would then play back in the call to Antartica.
News break-in for update on NYC transit strike.
Shep reads from the police blotter for Car 9 in Narberth, Pa.
Quotes from H.L.Mencken
Completion of fishing for bullheads.
Spell of the Yukon-The Antarctic Date: 01-06-66
10.3 MB
44:58 min
Comments: "This show will be interrupted at least 4 times to tell us that there is no news.. About the strike!." (Newspaper?)
"You can now buy 'Sour Grapes' " (reference to Luden's candy)
Elements and secret ingrediants. Reading box labels - 'Rat Poison' , Shep reads the description and contents of a box of rat poison to the music of the informer.
Ham radio - spent the previous night talking with a group of guys stationed in Antarctica where it was now summer with 24 hours of daylight and up to zero degrees.
He tells of talking with a German who was calling from a 4 masted schooner. It was a German training ship with a bunch of cadets aboard. 3 or 4 weeks later it sunk.
"Amateur radio is not a bunch of little boys sitting around interferring with television."
Shep mentions he had a chance a few years ago to visit the Antarctic which leads to the telling of the Robert Service peom "The Spell of he Yukon"
He tells the story of how, one Christmas, he is invited to visit Schwartz's uncle for the Christmas holiday - in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan. He describes the trip up there and how it was 43 degrees below zero when he got there.
Fishing For Catfish Date: 01-13-66
9.9 MB
43:06 min
Comments: San Francisco reports that 15 people each year apply to have the sex changed on their drivers license
Cripple Creek the legend
Airports as glamorous as a bus station
Description of flying over Chicago
Europeans impressed by the great plains
The psychological effect of being a city person near giant mountains, or giant plains & visa versa
Cripple Creek 45 up, up, up miles from Colorado Springs altitude 8000 feet
It's all based on hope!
World Records-Obscene Bathmat Date: 01-14-66
10 MB
43:41 min
Comments: Shep talks about his Uncle Carl's molar and the sounds he can make with it. This leads to a discussion about world records and he spends most of the show reading through the Guinness Book of World Records. He looks up the records of the most hamburgers eaten at a single setting, the record for potato chip eating, the fattest person, longest fresh water fish, and most prolific known murderer.
He mentions that if stuck on a deserted island the four pieces of reading material he would like are Spicy Western, Q&A, the Guinness Book of Records, and a slide rule.
Shep tells about going into a novelty store with a guy from the station and this guy buys an obscene bath mat. It gets rolled up and wrapped. They leave to go see a client at a restaurant and they put the mat under the chair. Just as they were about to leave Shep realizes the guy forgot his package, he picks it up and carries it to the front of the restaurant and then it opens up and unrolls in front of everyone. The guy who bought it looks at Shep and says it's not his, he never saw it in his life.
Perfect Crime - Borrowed Raincoat Date: 01-15-66
23 MB
1:23:34 min
Comments: Live at the Limelight
Faking It Date: 01-17-66
7.8 MB
45:21 min
Swamp Ice Date: 01-18-66
10.3 MB
45:09 min
Comments: Guys who come from cold climates rarely are hung up on winter sports.
The world of kid's sports. Shep spends the show talking about being a kid in the winter.
He talks about playing ice hockey down at the swamp near the Calumet to the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Very descriptive segment about the surrounding and atmosphere of the swamp. Shep, Flick, Bruner, Schwartz, Farkas, Martin - about 10 altogether, go out to this swamp about 2 miles from home one night. Catching a puck in the eye. They played until it got so dark you couldn't see the puck. Suddenly, Martin disappears! He went through the ice into the water. Schwartz crawls out on the ice and he goes through the ice. The ice creaks all around. Within 45 seconds they were all in the water. They swim to the edges and try climbing out and the ice keeps breaking away. They finally all get out onto hard ground. 10 scared kits all scared to go home. The feeling of the frozen corduroy knickers. They light a fire to dry out their clothes. The feeling of getting back home to the warmth of the house.
He closes the show telling about going out onto Lake Michigan on an ice boat. Going faster and faster across the ice.
Voyerism Date: 01-19-66
9.8 MB
42:48 min
Comments: Seeing through walls
Shep a technical advisor
Gadgets
News article about a voyeur
Spy stuff for normal people
Robert Service (The Ballad of the Black Fox Skin)
Robert Service (The beginning of The Ballad of Pious Pete)
Studs Turkels Wax Museum Date: 01-22-66
9 MB
39:09 min
Beadle Fund Date: 01-24-66
10 MB
43:44 min
Comments: August 9, 1959 the "Beadle Bumble Fund" was established by the Richmond News Leader to pay fines for people who prove that the law is "an ass and an idiot". The first fine of $25.00 was paid on behalf of a man who walked across the hood of a car blocking a pedestrian walk, and received a ticket from the policeman to whom it belonged.
Some of the other "Beadle Bumble Fund" payouts: Parking too far from the curb even though all the other cars were further. Violating the Blue Laws by painting the parking lines in a parking lot on Sunday - the only day the lot was empty. Putting a second dime in the parking meter. Fishing in Bird Park without a license - He was putting a worm on a hook for a three year old fishing in the park.
Shep parks scooter illegally to mail a letter and receiving a $15.00 ticket.
Forming a fund called the "Excelsior Fund" Pay the cabbies $45 fine for speeding when he was trying to get blood to a local hospital to save a life.
Shep is stopped for backing up on a street to avoid a trafic jam and is arrested because of improper identification. They didn't believe his name was 'Jean'. When he got back to the car, there was a $15.00 ticket for parking on the highway.
Getting on line at the motor vehicle and after endless hours of waiting finding out it's the wrong line.
Alphabet Date: 01-25-66
8 MB
46:30 min
Great Transition Date: 01-27-66
15.1 MB
44:04 min
The English Bullfight Date: 01-31-66
7.6 MB
44:26 min
Comments: Why Shep has never made it big
A Salute to the English
Sour Grapes the candy and the meaning
Men's and women's goals
The Bullfight Channel
Early TV Show, a live telecast of a medical operation
The World at Large Date: 02-01-66
18.9 MB
47:12 min
Comments: Shep reads bad poetry
The pornographic reform church
Short morbid stories
The emerging feminist attitude
Call it Style Date: 02-09-66
7.9 MB
45:59 min
Kentucky Cock Fight and George Ade Date: 02-11-66
10.1 MB
44:11 min
Comments: Sings a Shepherdian version of "My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean", puts down WOR.
Hints and Kinks: Reads news article about what to do if you are too fat.
Plays "Suwannee River" on the Kazoo in Shepherdesque style.
Reads article about the busting of a Union City, NJ cockfighting ring.
Then he tells a story about being invited by his friend Hal, to a time-of-your-life activity. After work he meets Hal and friends "Black Bart and Big Jack Slag" with $15-20 in his pocket and starts a mysterious trip into Kentucky over a bridge (1), into Covington and Newport, then into the outskirts. They were barreling along, three hillbillies and Shep in a Pontiac station wagon. Then they turn onto an unmarked gravel road.
They go around a pond into an empty field with about 75 cars from many states. They go into a barn. In the barn is an amazing little horseshoe grandstand with a sunken pit lined with green cloth. He saw cages at the open end where you can see "creatures". Hal introduces him to the gauntlet of alternately beefy or skinny, squinty eyes patrons as a friend. Fakes his Indiana accent and spits. He does some spitting and scratching to try to fit in. Describes the scene
in a mild southern accent. Talks about the conversations and the smells. They get stared with an introduction of the owners and the cocks, then the betting started furiously. Describes the combatants and the start of the fight, the fury and the hollering for blood.
Shameless plug for his show at the Limelight, threatening to "say it" and to do his underwater ballet. Goes to other commercials and completely sabotages an Evelyn Wood speed reading commercial.
A subversive bit: Talks about the new popularity of being a dropout, and the silly anti-dropout commercials. The promise of graduation is a better job, but most people thinking about dropping out are not interested in jobs.
He mentions drinking courses, another fine idea from Harvard. "Candy" is required reading in a high school, according to one letter writer.
Plays more "Suwannee River".
Reads subversive fable by George Ade(2) regarding Learning Versus Learning How. Moral: "The longest way around is the shortest way to the university degree."
"He'll get his" is a delusion whose truth is that they *will* get their riches and power.
"Keep your ol' knees loose, just keep your hands ready and supple."
Paper Route - Bowling & Pin-boy Date: 02-12-66
27.6 MB
1:28:22 min
Comments: Live at the Limelight
Pre Valentine's Day Paper Route Date: 02-13-66
48.5 MB
53:00 min
Valentine's Day Date: 02-14-66
10.2 MB
44:43 min
Comments: Valentine's Day is nervous day in USA. Americans are so hung up on love, he figures Americans invented "LUV". He thinks it should read "In love we trust".
"Dynamic begging" is the most virulent form of love. National symbol should be a loveable cocker spaniel. It says "Please love me". The theme of eternal love is in all our art forms such as songs and plays.
Only U.S. could have invented "Dear Abby", a love confessionalist, or Edgar A. Guest.
Peace is just a schtick. Americans like war and violence too. Love and war: The Peace Mace represents the best of all possible worlds.
America is the country of prepackaged messages of love (Valentine's cards), for those who are primarily illiterate. Actually some people save Valentine's cards, even from people they hate. This gets Shep on a British theme that lasts the rest of the show.
He uses the Beatles an example of British slobism. British actors get a pass in America just because they are British, taking over American theater. It is so bad it affects the economics of theatre. Seems to be a real sore point.
As usual, he uses commercials to go off topic a bit. Talks about the Luden head hunter religion that was created by Shepherd when Shep handed out Luden T shirts with a big red "L" to a tribe in the upper Amazon. Evelyn Wood demos are a great show and good for a cheap date. Actually improves on the commercial this time. A good example of Shepherdian hyperbole: Rovers are so durable that there are still some around from before cars were invented.
Americans can love any country but ourselves. Same way with our own search for identity in novels and plays. On the whole, America is not nearly as chauvinistic compared to English or France or Australians.
Cites foreigners coming to America, and criticizing America on radio interviews. We are the world's patsy because we take all the criticism.
Tells of a NY actor who knocked around for 9 years with nothing, who went to England, changed his name and came back as a successful actor.
English secretaries are being hired by the boatload too, for their accents. This is because we have a cultural feeling of inferiority.
Even college kids at Harvard, Yale try to pick up an accent. Harvard accent is pseudo-British.
The British mechanic visits America and travels all over, for months and wrote major English newspaper articles about how great it is for the average working guy here, which caused a great national controversy.
It was pointed out that most of the people that come to America to be critics of America are from privileged classes. They want first class.
Privileged classes of Britain do not like real democracy. They don't like to wait in line and expect to be treated according to their "station". For example there is no 1st, 2nd class travel on trains.
Western Union has 38 love messages( e.g. "I'm in Reno. Expect to hear from my lawyer. Be my Valentine." There are lots of ways to express love.
"Keep your knees loose and be careful. It's starting to come up around the knees here, by george."
True Believerdom Date: 02-18-66
10.7 MB
46:31 min
Comments: "Are you one of the down-trodden sensitive ones?"
Dear Abbey -do you think parents should pay their children for good grades?
Alienation - The feeling that guys have that they're not part of society.
The Beatles - they can consider themselves teenagers whenever it's necessary.
A Discussion about the Kulacks
"The world has been taken over by the 'True-Believers' "
The non-believers vs the true-believers.
A camp is a group of people who want to replace one set of values with another - theirs.
Knowledge is not the same as wisdom
Life size inflatable legs. Makes a wonderful gift for the man who has almost everything!
Archy the Cockroach - "The Flattered Lightning Bug"
