My Weekend in Dragon’s Throat

Hello!

I’m assuming that this week’s episode is akin to a re-enactment on Unsolved Mysteries. Although its billed as salvaged tape a la Blair Witch Project, I’m pretty sure this is all re-creation. It has the exact same audio “texture” as Wiretap and I think I doubt that JG had the chops he does now back when he was a neophyte. Plus, JG’s parents appear as the voices of random loonies and goonies at Dragon’s Throat.

Also, Gregor appears, playing himself – Jonathan Goldstein’s pre-med roommate. Not sure if that really happened or not.

Jonathan mentions the term “Hi-Bye Friends” in the episode which you may remember from “Allure of the Mean Friend” episode from This American Life.

Also, in the credits he mentions Heather O’Neill and “dog scratchings” which is absolutely baffling to me. I emailed CBC about it but we’ll see if they have any explanation. Zackary Clark appears as a voice as does some guy with a confounding last name which I won’t even attempt to spell (sounds like Bez-moe-gus).

Anyway, tune in – one big fat 20 minute act of gonzo journalism, Goldstein-style.

Best of Season Four

Hello,

So looks like Wiretap has wrapped up a season and released another “best of.” This week’s: The Lives of Bugs and Men. This theme really illuminates Wiretaps strange propensity for insect related themes. Specifically:

• Howard Chackowicz becomes a beekeeper.
• Dr. Seuss consults a patient, Mr. Samsa, who, appears to have had a bit of a metamorphosis.
• Jonathan Goldstein calls his parents to talk about the afterlife.

Let’s run these down to their sources:

Howard’s beekeeper stint was first stinted on April 13, 2008 in the episode “Man is a Rope Between the Ordinary and the Extraordinary.”

“Herr Doktor” by David Rakoff first appeared on Help Me Doctor on March 16, 2008. In this bit, David Rakoff reprises his role as a doc, first explored in his collection Fraud, in which he plays Freud. Oh, and if you’re unfamiliar, Kafka is evoked here.

JG’s talk with his parents Buzz and Dyna Goldstein, about their thoughts on the afterlife comes from . . . I don’t know where. Hmm… I’ll get back to you all on that one. In the meantime, here’s a picture of Jonathan Goldstein getting saved.

On another note, I’d say that the bits they picked for this were pretty funny, but if I had to make my own best of season 4, it might go something like this:

• A former Wiretap employee creates a tell-all website describing the horrors of being JG’s intern.  Noted for being the origin of the official Wiretap ring tone. From the episode “Protect Yourself.”
• From “Mending the Past,” Gregor takes JG on a play date in the park where he forces him to confront his fear of carousels and his lactose intolerance. Features the rarely heard Jonathan Goldstein giggle.
• From “Fake It Until You Make It,” JG’s nephew Zack needs help with a speech he’s giving on Radiohead. Hilarious and also mentions Radiohead.
• From “The Quick Fix,” Maria Bamford’s teleconference with JG on team-building. Jonathan seems particularly glum in this episode, plus there’s a part involving trust falls that I think is pretty hilarious.

OKay, that’s it? That’s it. Nerd out.