From thuganomics to thinkpieces: Cena and HuffPost enter the chat

Rewind to 8 May 2005 to 14 May 2005 — when HuffPost launched the comment section wars, John Cena dropped a platinum rap album and Malcolm Glazer bought Manchester United like it was a timeshare. Also: the Gorillaz went full apocalypse, Bush nearly got grenaded and 50 Cent whispered sweet nothings on the beach.

🎤 You can’t see this album.John Cena drops You Can’t See Me and somehow it slaps — from meme anthem “The Time Is Now” to his Beantown love letter, this was WWE’s most successful crossover since Hulk Hogan’s acting career (kidding, kinda).

📰 HuffPost starts the clickpocalypse.The Huffington Post launches and teaches the internet how to blend hot takes, news aggregation and Larry David blog posts into SEO gold. Journalism? Blogging? Who cares — it ranked first on Google.

💣 Bush dodges a literal grenade.While giving a speech in Georgia (the country, not Atlanta), someone throws a live grenade at President George W. Bush. It doesn’t go off, nobody panics and somehow this didn’t become a bigger headline?

⚽ Man U’s big sellout.American billionaire Malcolm Glazer takes over Manchester United, loads it with debt and kicks off the green-and-gold protest movement. Fans form their own team out of spite. Corporate football, activated.

🎶 50 Cent wants just a lil bit.Fiddy turns down the volume and ups the seduction with a whispery banger that defined the iPod Nano era. You weren’t allowed to play it loud, but you absolutely did.

🎧 Gorillaz go grimdark.Demon Days drops and we all pretend to understand the apocalypse. “Feel Good Inc.” spins nonstop while we wonder if cartoons are our new favourite band. (They are.)

🧼 Penthouse goes PG(ish).The raunchy mag decides it wants mainstream advertisers and less chaos, scrubbing the classifieds and aiming for respectable smut — a rebrand no one asked for but hey, good luck.

Hang with us on socials to chat more noughties nostalgia - Facebook (@tminus20) or Instagram (tminus20podcast). You can also contact us there if you want to be a part of the show.

Chapters

• 0:00 intro
• 0:22 show opener
• 11:37 news
• 30:31 sport
• 36:39 music
• 51:29 open up the boombox
• 56:23 tv and movies
• 1:05:18 books we didn't read
• 1:11:11 hatches, matches and dispatches
• 1:16:04 show closer

Transcript

Transcript is generated automatically.

The year is 2005. Anakin turns to the Dark side, YouTube debuts, and we couch jump for Mariah Mcdreamy and a girl with the Dragon Tattoo t -, 20 rewind 20 years with Joe and Mel. 

May 2005. 

-20, hey, what you doing? This is a talk show, minus. 

20 It's an ice breaker. Don't judge me. 

Yet this is bananas. 

My question is, who approved that going? Not really. 

Do you see where this is? 

Ohh welcome if this was your first time where the. Bloody hell were you? It's t -, 20, the podcast that asks what the hell was going on exactly 20 years ago, and why does it still slap? 

Slap thing. Yeah, that's the thing. Why does it still slap that slap? Yeah, still still great. Still awesome. Amazing amaze balls. 

Is that is that what the cool kids say? Slap. It's that slaps that slaps, is that what is that slaps. It's still great with your with your host Joe and Mel. Hello Mel. Hello. Yes now slap like back in my day. I know what a slapper. Was OK so. 

Similar to a scrubber. 

Yes. So I don't know how slap works. Anyway, sorry. Sorry. We're off to a flying start. 

Hmm. 

Slaps a good thing. Things that were happening 20 years ago that you. Know are still good. 

That's still good. OK, thank you. Yeah. Yes, the week that was 2 decades ago. Music, movies, news, tech, TV scandal, celebrity meltdowns, whatever else you had on your flip phone or, you know, DVD. 

We're light and stout. Like putting our head in the sand. 

Box sets. Maybe your iPods. All of those other portable media devices before they all merge into one thing. 

DVD boxes. Gosh. 

Your nano. 

You're nano, yeah. 

Still got my nano no. 

All of them. 

Shuffle I had a shuffle. 

I don't my nano passed away back when I was still in high school. Unfortunately, God rest her soul. 

I had the cheap one. 

Ohh sorry. You meant iPod, yes. 

Yes, we're we're rewinding to the 8th to the 14th of May 2005. 

We did not want just to speak to the people who agreed with us, so we launched multiple vertical centertainment media living style, which bring users to the site. Not necessarily. I'm progressive. 

That's all. You need multiple verticals to bring people who aren't necessarily progressive to the site. 

What? 

The birth of a very important publication which became the clickbait mothership that taught us all about listicles. 

Ohh see and I probably liked it and went. That's really good. That's reputable and now I'm I'm I'm not sure. 

Little bit. 

Let's look. I don't like where that's. 

Thing at all. Tell faith. At life, Coates. 

Yes, but I don't like it when he. 

Whispering sweet nothings. 

He makes me uncomfortable when he starts to be sexy. I don't like. I don't like it when $0.50 is sexy, and I think we're gonna, and I'm worried that we're gonna have to get a bit sexy with fiddy a little bit later on. It's not. 

You don't, so it's a bit uncomfortable. It's not the disco inferno I was looking for. 

Just a little bit, yeah. 

Now, now you can't see me. My time is now now. 

Another amazing rapper. 

From from 1 rap icon to another that was a new album. We'll talk all about that and that person. And I think so. We had a we had a blog cracked open. We had $0.50 being sexy, which we're not sure about. And we had a a rapper who is invisible and really doesn't like that. Joke at all. So there you go. 

This week we are talking also about the birth of the Huffington Post, as we mentioned, which helped pioneer. 

Yes. 

What has become the the chaotic comment thread and and this is a time before. 

Ohh, I'm just here for the comments absolutely. 

Before we had emojis before, we could like things. Yeah, you can have moderation now. So certain keywords. If people write things that are rude or have a swear it just it doesn't even appear. It doesn't even appear. 

Get rid of them automatically. It puts them in a holding pen and it puts them in a holding pen and it's it's the power is on you to release them and that moderator role. Some people take that moderator. 

Hmm. 

I knew. Can go and go. 

Loves, loves. 

Well, very seriously. I'm looking at you, community note. 

Ohh. 

But. 

You know a community notice board moderator. 

I do know a community notice sport moderator. I know it doesn't mean I'm not necessarily friends with him. I don't think community notice board moderators actually have friends. If I'm being up. 

I am dying to know. I'm dying to know what they moderate out because the community noticeable. That's cool. 

I I actually. Look, in all fairness, I'm trying to make jokes about community notice board moderators not having any friends. Not by design, like they're usually very nice people with. Very good values and they need to be very even tempered and. 

It would be a tough job. It would. 

Be an awful job and I've I've had it offered to me. Hey, would you like to be a moderator? I'm like, I don't. Really don't think that's a good idea. 

Those noticeable words are unhinged. 

You've been banned from Community news because I don't think you're allowed to be a moderator with your history. 

That's it. You're. Your community notice board would turn into a dumpster fire within about probably 4 hours if I was a moderator. 

Back in the early 2000s, commenting was still a new things. Mm-hmm. Figuring out the rules, and I don't think we quite knew. 

For commenting, there's a lot of people that still don't, and I look back at anything that I'm reminded of in my digital footprint when I'm going through. 

The rules back then. 

My my digital footprint storage locker, my hoarder storage locker of my digital footprint, and I find an artefact. And it's like, wow, I'm a kid. 

Yes. Yeah, right. Did you used to just like put random messages to try and get people to decode them and go is everything. OK mate. 

No, I never used to. I never used to what he said. Vague book, vague booking. No. But I'd be like here I am doing this and here's what I think of this and as if I'm that important, that anyone really gives a about what I think. And the fact is that even me. 

Do those. Ones, yeah. 

Being reminded later on when Facebook does the whole memory things or whatever, I'm like even I'm not interested in that. I'm putting out there. Yeah, thankfully. I just wish there was a thing I wish there was a magic button that you could press that could completely erase and reset your digital footprint. 

That's so boring. I'm asleep. Where am I? 

Erase it all. 

No. Early 2000s comments were quite unhinged. And do you remember? 

And thank goodness it hasn't. So we can now be graced with some of these. Isn't that wonderful? 

They're still there. They're still there. Early 2000s was a big time for first. Mm-hmm. So when somebody published something, we're probably. Ohh, we've got Facebook, and we've got YouTube. So people would type in first in all caps to be the first comment. Just the first comment first. First within seconds of an article or a video. 

Yeah, yeah. See what I mean? 

Hmm. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. 

Sir. Yeah, yeah. Yep. 

Yeah, thing. That's it. And you, would the hero. You were the hero of your. 1st, heaven forbid that you type first at the same time as somebody else, and yours appeared like it's nanosecond later deleting. It's like ohh God delete yeah. 

Well, that's the delayed. Delete. Yeah, I maybe I should try that. Maybe I should try doing it first these days and see what happens. Yeah, I. Probably get blocked crucifixion. Yeah. 

The caps lock ramps we were we didn't know. We didn't know that you could type in that all caps was yelling back then. 

I feel like that's an accident, yeah. Yes. Yeah. 

An example, this is a real example from back in the day. 

This song sucks. Lol. You don't know real music. If you listen to this garbage, exclamation, exclamation, exclamation. Metallica. Forever. Exclamation, exclamation. Exclamation, exclamation, exclamation. 

Generally found under pop music video clips, yeah, followed by 87 replies yelling. 

Yeah. 

Back. None of it sounds great in my head. I think it's as unpleasant as what it was when. 

I read it the passive aggressive debates, the comments actually, if you've done any research, you'd know that that's not true. 

Ask. Yeah. Which is usually just probably something that was. Cotton piece from somewhere else anyway. 

I think you'll find. 

Yeah, there was a lot of that. 

Yes. And then they get they they they do all that, they name their sauces and they cut and paste stuff. Yeah. And then they and then they and then they get to a point where they just get nasty and they just start insulting. 

They've started doing that, haven't they? The links. 

Yes. 

Each other because they can't win, then they resort to spares. 

Exactly. So they like. They'll try. They'll look at their profile picture and say something about what they look like or something. Yeah. 

Says you with the. Green hat the long winded overshare. 

I've been very guilty of this and this is kind of what I'm referring to when I go through the storage locker, like, I don't even care. 

What? 

It's so boring that I don't even wanna read it again. So why did I put it out there in the why did I waste so much time writing it? I think. 

It's therapeutic. Did you ever do this one? This song reminds me of my ex. We used to dance to it in 2002 before. 

He cheated on me with my cousin. No, I wasn't that in touch with my family inside to do that sort of thing. I was. 

There's always under the romantic songs where you know in the video clip, they're looking out the car window or they're looking out the window of the house. It's raining. Windows fogged up, so tragedy. 

Well, you know me. Like, I'm not the romantic type. I was also like in a relationship, so I didn't really need to, like, throw any of the. This fishing lines out into cyberspace to see if I could get any nibbles, so to speak, *******. 

The the trolling lurker who would be like you guys are all sheep, LMAO and that's what they say and then they leave. 

Ohh yeah. Wow. Yep. OK. 

That's. Yep, the people that tried to use coding so they do like the. 

That's a Myspace thing, yeah. 

Yeah, like the love hearts with the with that greater than or less than, less than, and the number three to make the love heart. 

Less than three, yes. Yeah. 

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know why we're all trying to be. Coders in the comments. 

I don't think you can code. Love, I really don't. 

The forum moderator says we're being good practise for the community. Notice. Well, let's keep things civil. There was always a commenter. Come on, everybody. This community is just for fans of Avril, not a place for personal attacks. 

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they step in. That just reminds me of like like when you go to a concert like I think like alternative nation way back in the 90s is probably a good one. I think that because there was mud and it rained, it was really muddy and some dude comes up on stage and he's. 

Hmm. 

OK. Everybody's like we need to stop throwing mud now and then suddenly 100,000 people just start ******* mud at that particular person, yeah. 

Yeah. 

That's what that role is like I said, it's. A tough gig, the. 

And the fake celebrity there was always a lot of fake celebrities like the hey guys. It's me, Eminem. Thanks for the support. 

Ah. Yeah. OK dear slim. I wrote you, but you still ain't callin. It's the sorry. It's the hatches. Matches and dispatches Clue segment we do at the end of the show. Little clue we give you at the beginning to hook you on through. So we've gone through. We have stop the presses. It's not a death. 

Hmm. 

Hmm. 

Good. 

It's not a marriage. 

Probably good for this. 

We have a famous person that was born Ohh. Time 20 years ago that is not. 

20 year old birthday. 

A social media, Tik Toker YouTube, or whatever other thing that you call it it that that has not opened an account at the digital footprint storage locker. We've got we we've got someone, a genuinely talented person that was born this time 20 years ago that said this. 

Asmara. I don't know. 

Training. Quickly, especially my neck, to make sure I'm ready, but yeah, I just really can't wait to get started. 

And I can't wait to find out who that is. At the end of the show. 

9th of May 2005, The Huffington Post is launched. This was before there were listicles before there was hot. 

Hmm. 

Tapes. 

Right, no listicles. 

Before the celebrity blogs, HuffPost Kind of launched it all and made it clickable. It repackaged it. It reblogged it. It rewired our brains. For the chaos that we scroll through today. 

It really was the template for new media. When you think about it like that it's it's it's been a little bit superseded. Superseded. Is that what I'm saying was superseded before or after because I'm trying to sound intelligent like someone who blogs. Therefore they are. So that's what I was trying to do there. But I got it right. And if I had it kept going, you would have thought I was super smart. 

It was. After. 

But I'm not. I'm really insecure. Just like you, this is what has now been replaced with like influences. So I'm thinking of like Hannah Ferguson for example. You know, she's she's sort of the new new media. Like, this is kind of the bridge in between old school media and new school media. If you're picking up what I'm putting. 

Hmm. 

Down, yes. Founded by Arianna Huffington. Who is an author and political commentator? Kenneth Lehrer, former AOL executive Jonah Peretti, who later founded BuzzFeed in fact, and Andrew Breitbart. 

Ohh. Breitbart or yeah, Breitbart Breitbart. Yes, the Breitbart News founder, yes, yes, he's Ariana. 

He's got. 

A news. That guy. 

We did not want just to speak to the people who agreed with us, so we launched multiple verticals, entertainment, media, living style, which bring users to the site who are not necessarily progressive and as a result, how far traffic now is coming from non. 

So. Yeah. 

Users and that is very significant to us because we don't want just to talk to people who share our views. 

I think that's quite profound, yes. 

That's interesting. When you look at social media today and the fact that you're only served up information that you like and you are presented with things that fit your own values and and life view, whereas this is the complete opposite in terms of what she was aiming for. 

Right. But they go. Right. So and and. This is very much a left wing news outlet, OK. 

With a response to the right wing outlets. 

Yes. 

Like the Drudge Report. 

Yes, but. They they were aspirational in that they wanted to start a conversation and they were putting content up there to invite people who weren't liberal or progressive to view their content, which is, I think, a very honourable like, it's it's kind of in the spirit. 

Hmm. 

Hmm. 

Of what media should be doing? I don't think media should be showing a political bias, but I I find that unavoidable these days, right? It's completely unavoidable. 

Hmm. 

And the truth lies somewhere in between that bias or what you think based on consuming either the left and the right bias, and then realising that there's some kind of middle ground. But there is no middle ground. 

But now you look at and you look at a lot of contents. 

I don't think there was then either, but I think it's worse now. 

You look at a lot of content creators now as well. And if people start disagreeing with them all of a sudden they're blocking them, or they're saying that they're being bullied. And I mean. 

That that's right. So it's not bringing people together, it's pushing them away. 

And it's almost like somebody has and you know, there is a lot of bullying. I'm not diminishing that there is a lot of bullying. There's a lot of trolling. There's a lot of horrible stuff that happens online. But what you do find now is is often you have these content creators that put things out there. 

Yeah. 

But they only want the likes. They only want the people that agree with them. Yeah. And if they get anyone kind of challenging what they've said, they'll block them. They'll delete or they'll send their followers after them because they just don't want. They don't. 

Yeah. 

Want that criticism? They don't want to spark debate. They don't want to then justify their opinion. They just want the likes and the agreement, whereas this is looking for the. 

Opposite and I'm wondering if. It like as someone who maybe consumed the Huffington Post back in the day, I'm wondering if that shape, like not me personally, but I'm wondering if that shaped your behaviour as to how you conducted yourself online beyond that because I am really embarrassed and ashamed about like I feel like. 

Hmm. 

Hmm. 

What? What? A lot of people's online presence is, including mine. And I'm very embarrassed and ashamed of how I've behaved online in the past. Just and I I haven't done anything bad, right? Like super bad. Like, let's start with that. 

You've been on a few noticeboards though. 

Yeah, but I haven't, like you know, I I have been and commented on a few notice boards and seen really stupid and then made fun of it. Which is fine. It's. It's what I've what I've learned from it is it's a massive waste of time but. 

Hmm, cause you end up staying up all night and arguing back and forth with someone who's probably not even real. 

Yeah, it's and it's really it's exceptionally bad for. Well for me it was really bad for my mental health, but also. It's it's like taking a really small part of your personality, and it's generally the negative part because it's like you're looking at words that people have written have gone. How can I dissect this content in a way that I might be able to make myself look better and cut this person down? And I'm not saying that's everyone and I'm not saying that I set out. 

Hmm. 

Hmm. 

Deliberately with that intention too, but maybe there's some kind of subconscious competitive kind of nature, I don't know. But it takes a really small negative part of your personality. And if you if you lurk around that and you, you don't go in with the intention of doing anything constructive and just trying to debate or. You know it's nothing good can come of it is what I'm trying to say and it it it just, it's just the worst part of it's stuff that you would a you can't take back and B you it can be interpreted in a multitude of ways anyway. When it's the written word, I think in a lot of ways unless your language is super direct. 

Hmm. 

Hmm. 

But also it's like it's just it's it's part of who you are. It has to be part of who you are or you wouldn't have made it. And I think that's worth reflecting on a little bit as well and that's a little bit scary, but it's just not. It's just not a good representation of how people should behave towards each other. There, I said it. I sound we'll we'll open up the book box later. I apologise. 

Hmm. 

Back to the Huffington Post wasn't just politics and opinion. There was news aggregation, original reporting, celebrity blogs, lifestyle content. There was celebrity. 

Yes. No. 

Contributors. It was launched with blogs from Larry David, John Cusack, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Walter Cronkite. 

I feel like Larry David may have written that last little bit that I did, but anyway, sure, yeah. 

It was a. 

Blog and news hybrid as well and. And it was probably one of the earlier or earliest publications that started to blur the lines between what we see now of traditional journalism and personal blogging. 

Hmm. 

Yes, well, there was the basically the celebrity contributors were doing the personal blog thing, yeah. 

But the view the. 

Viewpoints coming into the traditional journalism as well. So. 

Yeah. 

The everyday person commenting on world events but then turning that into content which we see now with a lot of news outlets who'll just grab an Instagram post and post it. 

Yeah. 

As a story. 

I think also giving famous people a platform outside of their remit. Do you know what I'm saying? 

That's all so scary. 

Yeah. And that well, I mean, that's what social media does to everybody. It gives you a platform outside of your remix. So you might not be an expert in anything, but your words can go out there, somebody can read them and take them a multitude of different ways. And unfortunately, we're all a bit stupid and lazy. So we look upon it as fact and if it's like. 

That's what's scary. 

You'll have an opinion anyway. 

Well, you know, John Cusack said this. So it must be true. Must it really? 

It also became a hub for hated political debates. 

The guy from better off Dead said something that yeah, OK. 

Moments. 

Yes. 

It also really mastered the concept of search engine optimization before that became a thing. It was really good. At inserting those keywords and dominating Google search, it really showed up in a lot of search results because they were obviously covering the popular topics. 

Yeah, yeah. 

Of the day because it was online, they could turn it around a lot faster than your traditional media and. 

Those were the days, weren't they? 

People were actively searching it out. 

But the the the days when keywords would result in you being pushed content, you know in relation to something that you were looking for and it wasn't necessarily to do with personal preference or or your past search history or your political bias. It was just keywords. 

Yeah. 

Hmm. 

They're tagging as well. They were really good at tagging. They had a bit of a formula too. They'd sort of start with the hard news at the top. 

Uh-huh. Yeah. 

Thought piece in the middle and then I don't know bit of lifestyle blog about green smoothies, maybe some pandas. 

Yeah. Just to change of pace now. 

Yeah, exactly. Because we all need a change of pace after the hard news. 

That sort of stuff, absolutely we do. 

In 2011, AOL bought HuffPost for 315 million. 

They sold out. 

Arianna stayed on, actually as editor in chief until 2016. And it was bought by Buzz feeds more recently and obviously the buzz feeds Guy was was part of the original Huffington Post. So that's. 

Ah. Well, that's the end. It's all over. No, BuzzFeed is trash. 

Alright. I like it. 

Sorry, I'm never. I'm never gonna make that listicle limo. 

I like it. There is some great there's some great early 2. Thousands. 

10 podcasts that you have to listen to when never getting there. 

It was a good listicle the other week. It was 13 passive aggressive cakes. And I was like, Oh my God. Show me the. 

Cakes. That's that's that is. Ohh, that is wizard wizard level clickbait. That really is. I take it back. BuzzFeed. 

Switching cakes. Like what are these cakes saying? That's what's the picture. That's words. Genius. Show me the cake. I love cake contents. 

Genius. Genius. I want. I wanna see those cakes. I actually wanna look that up right now. I'm gonna do it. Hang on. What have we got? Passive aggressive. 

A pasad cake. Cake think there was 13 or might have been 18. 

I'm just going to Google passive aggressive. Cakes cause it's just. 

Which is interesting because I like cake content to unwind at the end of the day. I follow a few cake accounts on Instagram and I love watching you know how they have the turning wheel and they put the cake on there and they slap on some of the butter cream and they spin it around and it's really soothing, but a passive aggressive cake. I just, OK. 

Ohh my gosh. OK. Like I just, I I just got images, images popped up straight out of Google and in the centre. Is this beautiful cake with some beautiful? What do they call the stuff where they use the piping around the edges, nice piping and then in the in the middle the words the text in perfect font. 

What have we got? 

Hmm. 

I like. Little Rosetti things. 

Hmm. 

Be better. So there you go. And like that's, you know, if it was like if you got that from like an Asian bakery, you you could you know you could skin that a couple of different ways try and put a positive spin on it. But man if that. If somebody's giving you that, you're in big trouble. 

Better. It was like, yeah, maybe after your tea. Yeah. School came out or something. 

Yeah. So, OK, so, look, BuzzFeed. OK, I'm sorry, BuzzFeed, that is fascinating. 

Passive aggressive votes. 

Maybe they might make a passive aggressive cake about you. They were controversies and criticism. A lot of writers for BuzzFeed were unpaid, even though the site made millions, which sparked a lot of back. 

Yeah. 

Slash. 

Yeah, it's not really. 

Content farming. 

A business model around all of this new event. 

Well, I think you know, they go ohh. Would you like to contribute? And. People are like ohh yeah, I'm gonna get my writing on the. 

Sure. 

Internet and they go. Oh, actually, I should probably be paid for that. 

Yeah. And then they say here's my writing. Would you like to contribute? They're like, no, that. Wasn't part of the deal. 

Well, maybe you should have worked out a an agreement before you made the works, so you know it's your problem. That's an issue. Content farming. They accuse them of aggregating to the point of play. 

That's the start. Yeah, exactly. 

Yeah. 

Tourism, copying news and repackaging stores. 

Ohh. Well, a lot. Of outlets were doing that? Yeah, that's that's heading towards a critical mass. Not quite quite now, but I think you know, the 2005 that wasn't happening. But when we get to sort of, you know the teens, the 2000 and teens, then yeah. 

Curation mates. Curating. It's not plagiarism curating. It also while aiming to be progressive, some critics felt that it did rely too heavily on clickbait Wellness woo from Celebrity Fluff. Ohh. Like the vagina candle? Ohh Wellness woo. Like that? Bit woolly, you know? Bit out there? Bit witchy. 

What we've what we've. 

Woo. 

Hmm. 

Sure. 

Like you know. Burning sage to. Get rid of the ghosts. Woo. Yeah, that's woo. 

Excellent. 

It helps shape the modern digital media ecosystem, though I don't think we can. We can argue with that. It opened the door for blogging to become a serious. Pastime. 

Yep. 

Or job help launch the career careers of many digital journalists and obviously set the tone for passive aggressive cakes and other listicles. Over the years. 

Boo. 

A change of pace. Now let's go to an assassination attempt. 

Oh, I thought. We're gonna go to a green smoothie or a. Vagina. Candle. It's a shame. 

No, enough of the. 

What is that is? 

That repackaged like. I don't know. I just like maybe somebody was like, hey, let's make a candle that smells like the seaside and they're like, listen, it didn't kind of go well. We'll mix it up too. Well, So what we're gonna do is we're gonna repackage this and make it that. Anyway, let's talk about. 

Right. Launch it. 

Aids. Let's talk about assassination attempts. Let's talk about George W Bush. He was on tour. He was on tour. He was in Tbilisi, Georgia. I think that's what it was called, the place and. Yeah, and the freedom square there he was. He was talking and somebody threw a grenade at him. He was doing a speech in front of 10s of thousands of people and a man in the audience through a live. 

OK. 

Freedom square. 

Grenade towards the stage where President George W Bush and the President of Georgia were speaking. 

It landed about 30 metres, or 100 feet from the podium. So. It was pretty. Close it failed to detonate, luckily because it was wrapped tightly in a red handkerchief. 

Ohh and he didn't, so he pulled the pin out. But you know how? So the PIN comes out and then you've got it with the pin out. And then when you release it, there's a little safety lever on it. Mm-hmm. So he's wrapped it in a hanky and tossed it. And the safety lever has been caught up. 

Got to take your hanky off it. 

In the wrapped hanky, why did he wrap it in the? 

Hanky maybe to disguise it, do you think? 

Very anti. Maybe it was cold on his hands. 

Or maybe just got tangled in the. Maybe he had the hanky in. 

I don't know, you know. 

His pocket cause he had a cold. 

It's a grenade. Like maybe when you get, like when you get something hot out of the oven. You wanna? 

It's got tangled and it's henchy. Why? You know what? I Ashley, can I just tell you? 

Touch it. I don't. 

Something. 

OK. 

An oven thing I saw on social media? Sure. Sure. Love was pulling something out of the oven and it was on Instagram and they were like, you know, I don't know, this is my masterpiece. I made tots. 

So. 

Or whatever they. Were pulling the oven tray out with a piece of bread. Yeah, so they had bread folded in half as the oven Mitt. 

Oh wow. 

That we're using. Bread. To get the oven tray out of the oven. 

A pretty solid piece of bread, like that's. 

Isn't that amazing? You just. I don't know why I thought of that, but you. Just reminded me of it. 

It's going to be a pretty dense kind of bread like. 

No. I don't know. It was white. It's white. Bread. It's probably the thick. Mist, But they're using it as an oven mist, but they're too busy commenting on what they're cooking, and I'm like that the bread oven. MIT genius. 

Yeah. 

I didn't think. Well, yes, I mean you couldn't wrap a grenade in it, but sure, 30 metres from the podium is where the grenade landed. Did we cover that? I think we. 

No. Anyway, back to the grenade. We said that we did, yeah. It didn't detonate because it was in the handkerchief. 

Said. That, yeah, cause the handkerchief. Yeah, US Secret Service Georgian officials launched an immediate investigation into. 

Bush didn't know either. He didn't realise it. He's like, ohh, there's someone's dirty hanky. Gross. 

No. Just landed and everyone went. Like a hanky? It's like got like some kind of hard metal object in it. That's a grenade. 

You can see it's snorting that. That's a big budget. 

Yeah. Yeah. So they they launched an investigation that nobody got evacuated. The speech kept going. The show went on. It was like. Nothing had happened. It's a bit, yeah, but it's on. Yeah. 

Professional such a professional, isn't it? 

George well, good on you. George, well done. 

But you would have thought. Yeah, you would have thought once they found it that they would stop it and take him away. Cause obviously someone's up to something. 

Yeah. Well, they they confirmed they they confirmed the Soviet made grenade. I'm not really sure that that has that much to do with it. Be more about the person who threw it than where it was made. But the and the suspect was a guy from Georgia named Vlad. Near Arret Union, he was a citizen. He was Armenian as well. He was of Armenian descent and they arrested him after a shootout that actually resulted in the death of a counterintelligence officer. Wow. From Georgia. He confessed to throwing the grenade, and investigators discovered he had a makeshift lab full of chemicals and explosives. These. You know which he probably also wrapped in hankies. So they became completely ineffective. He got life, he got life. For that fair. Enough. He he he can't be throwing grenades at people and wrapped in hankies, you know. 

No, no. 

No, I don't have a lab of chemicals goodness. 

No, and it is. It is a wildly underrated thing like this. 

Well, you. 

Couldn't even find a news report about it. 

This is the. The President of you. You remember when the President of the United States a couple of times has come to Canberra? I think the last time it was was it Obama or or I think it was. Obama had come to Canberra and I remember being asleep. 

See. 

And I could hear. 

In the audience. 

No, just he was he. He was visiting. Visiting. Stop. Let me finish what I'm saying. He was staying at the US embassy in Canberra on his Australian visit and I remember being asleep in my home in the same city and I could hear the distant sound. 

How can you remember being asleep? If you were asleep. OK. 

Of F eighteens flying overhead, the entire the entire time that the United States President was here and I was like. 

Wrong. 

You were asleep the whole time he was here. 

I wasn't asleep, if if. You know what I'm saying? And it's interesting because I find there's so much security around the United States President. 

Yes, you're making a comment. You're making a comment about security. 

I was trying to until I was derailed by you. 

Well, you just said I remember when I was asleep. You don't remember when you're asleep? It just. 

I remember when I was asleep. That was a good time. 

It was confusing. You were confusing. You're confusing me. 

Way back in a moment, I haven't slept properly since I slept very soundly with those F eighteens overhead thinking, well, the city I'm in is probably the safest, the safest city in the world right now, which is why I find it bizarre. 

Yeah, well, there was no hankies then. There's no. Comfortable worth. 

Hmm. 

That. 

There was no. Yeah, no security. And also that he wasn't ushered off the stage and protected. 

The Freedom Square into Bilsi in Georgia was just not well guarded. That's what I'm saying. And I'm not mad, just a bit disappointed, not really. That disappointed. Probably deserved it. Let's go over to sports. 

Hmm. 

Hmm. 

Yes, soccer again. We talked about soccer last week and Ring and Lionel was in soccer in the soccer. 

Football the world game. Ohh Lionel Messi. 

That's the same game, isn't. 

You're calling Lionel. It is? Yes. The round ball game. The world game. 

We had a a takeover of Manchester United. 

Very controversial this for man U fans. One of the most successful teams at the time Manchester United. 

On the 12th of May. Apparently. Hmm. Malcolm Glazer takes it over. He reached the threshold to take majority control of the club and by June 2005 he owned over 98% of the shares. And forcibly acquired the rest. 

Yeah, fans were really not happy about this. So who is Malcolm Glazer? He's an American business. And billionaire, who owned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL? Yes, yes. And they did pretty well, and he was he had this massive portfolio that he was growing in sports and real estate no prior round ball game experience, though, or cultural connection to Manchester United. 

The American. 

Oh, OK. 

Hasta fans outrage. 

Yes. Have you? Seen welcome to Wrexham where you know Ryan. What's his name? Ryan Reynolds and his other mate. 

Menards. 

Yeah, the guys. 

His his names? I shouldn't. But it's terrible that I forget the other games. But the other guy have bought that football club and I feel like. 

Yeah, like that. Well, nobody minded about that though. Did they cause it was Ryan. 

Well, I think that I I actually no, I disagree. I think they're a bit like sceptical about their beloved football club going to somebody from the United States because of people like Malcolm Glazer, right, right. Yeah. 

Reynolds. 

Oh. 

Ohh really? 

Yes, yes. So he bought up shares starting in 2003 and then he launched A leveraged buy out where he borrowed money to buy the club and then transferred that debt for the buy out onto the club itself. I'm like, how could you even do that? Right? Not good. So Man United. 

OK. 

Oh yeah, that's not cool. 

Goes from being debt free and happy to over £500 million in debt. Because of this deal. With Glazer and then the fans were furious. 

HM They were worried it. Would hurt the performance and transfer spending. Hmm. There was a lack of transparency as well. He was reclusive and never publicly explained his plans to the fans. 

Didn't even speak to them. I think there was a there was a thing back in the day where he went up to it might have been a Super Bowl press conference or something and somebody from the British media was there and they ambushed him and they asked him about Man United. And he just sat there with this really weird grin on his face and refused to speak. And then the person that was kind of. 

Hmm. 

Oh. 

You know, marshalling the press conference, shut it down and went to another. Question but it was very awkward. 

They also felt it was being treated like a bit of a profit machine and turning their beloved institution into a corporate asset. There were actually protests outside Old Trafford and. 

I do think it's funny when people talk about their football teams becoming corporate assets because all of this stuff is tied up in sponsorship dollars and money. Like, what are you talking about? Half of it's propped up by gambling, like, come on, guys. 

But it's our beloved team. It's our beloved. How dare you buy our team? 

I get it. I understand. I get it. I follow sport. 

You rich American. Too. You don't love the game as. Much as we do. 

Ohh well yeah, that's right, that's right. 

They started the love United hate Glazer campaigns. 

Yes. 

I did. 

They formed an FC United of Manchester which was a breakaway club owned by supporters. There were visual protests. They turned up in green and gold scarves which was the clubs original colours, and we want our club back became the rallying cry at games. 

Hmm. 

Yeah, it was. It was not a good year for Man United in in 2. 

I feel bad for the. 

1000 and. Players well, he he died. Malcolm Glazer died in. 2014 and he was I think he was 85 at the time and his six kids now owned 48.9% of the clubs outstanding shares. And in 2024, a guy by the name of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who owns Anios. That's like you've seen that they sponsored the Mercedes Formula 1/2 he acquired. 

Hmm. 

28 nine .9% of the stake in the club, but as part of his deal any other. Ohh. Radcliffe, I guess gained control of the clubs football operation. So I think there was some hope that he'd get back on track, but he wasn't very well liked. But it's interesting too. And you gotta check this out because. On one side of the pond, over in the states, the sentiment towards him is very different. So this is like from the NFL Network talking about good old Malcolm. 

In 1995, he bought the Buccaneers for a reported $190 million. The books had been a losing franchise for two decades. But Malcolm Glazer changed their colours and their fortunes. He moved the Bucks into a sparkling new stadium and a new era of winning. 

What a hero, right? 

Wow. Yeah, that's very heroic. 

Here's what the BBC says about him. 

This was just one of a series of demonstrations following his takeover of Manchester United. Some fans were deeply unhappy about the way the club was bought. Hundreds of millions of dollars borrowed with the debt then dumped onto the club, one of the world's most profitable teams. Now massively in the red. 

It's interesting. Is it so one one side of the pond is a hero who saved the club from losing and on the other side he basically turned a winning club into losers. I I I like it. I like the both of those segments. Both of those pieces were aired. 

There's a villain. None. 

Posthumously, like after he died so that they were done in 2014. After he died, they sort of aired at the. Same time but. 

So they're still mad at him. After he dies like this. 

Still mad, I think, though I think like it depends on. Like I said, what side of the pond you're from. You're Buccaneers fan. You love the guy. If you're a man, you fan, you hate the guy. 

Over to the charts now, here in Australia, signs a Snoop feat, JT still #1. 

Ohh. I know that was sorry. 

Sierra, they've found their way to Amarillo in the UK. It's not #1 anymore. We've got a new number one over there, Acon with lonely Mr. 

Ohh no. 

So lonely I have nobody. 

And the top five over in the. US. 

All I really need is a little bit. 

Hi. 

Mr longer, I have nobody. 

Southern style get filled old schools coming down in a different colour wheel. We'll pick the perfect you might want. 

To take a flick flick. 

And I'm gonna shine on me until my heart stop. 

Pick one. 

Girl. Girl. 

$0.50 just dropping the hits everywhere like it like he he's got a hole in his back pocket. He's like, Ohh, another hit just fell out of 50. 

Hmm. 

Umm yes he will candy. Shop is no longer in the top. 5 but fine, it's got a replacement. 

That's alright because he's dropping more. It's out of his pocket. That's right. 

Yes. 

#5 new entry from $0.50 just a little bit. 4 lonely Akon 3 ohh S2. Hate it or love it. 

Ohh sorry I thought something bad had happened then. See this is what I mean with that stupid song. Oh. 

Hate it or love. It feet 50, but I'm just gonna say bye 50. 

M. 

Yeah you should. 

Holler Back girl is still #1 again. This week, but let's talk about our new entry just a little bit from $0.50. 

Really needs. A little bit. Not a lot, baby girl. Just a little bit. Little bit I can show you how I live in a little bit your pants. Just a little bit. Take them all. Put them down just a little bit. 

Oh. 

OK, so this is somewhere in 50 cycle like 50 has a cycle. Where he does like a hard song. And then he does maybe a couple of collaborations and then he does a a kind of a raunchy song, but then he does like a sexy song. And I feel like he's doing too many sexy songs at the moment, like candy shoppers just falling out of the charts, like just falling out. The. 

Ohh, and then Disco Inferno was very **** heavy. 

Right. Yeah. And then just a little bit has just slid in there and I'm just like and I. 

Split into the. 

Yes. 

Don't I know? I I don't want you know I it makes me. It makes me uncomfortable. 

I want 50 unbuttoning your pants. 

When I hear $0.50 talking about taking someone else's pants off. 

Yeah, the video. Clip's a bit raunchy. He's on. Where is it filmed? It's filmed on an island. Cancun. It's in Cancun, and he's. 

Hmm. 

It that could be a me problem, it could be me. I could be the one. 

He's on a bed. He's on a day bed on the beach with lots of girls. Yeah, bed. And then there's a yacht. And there's a girl on the yacht. But the guy on the yacht, an old man that's not $0.50, but the guy on the yachts watching the young girl. And she's wearing a race skirt and she's twerking. 

With the problem but. I'm not OK. Yeah. Right. 

But anyway, on the day bed with 50, that's getting a bit raunchy. That's bit candy shop anyway. 

Yes. 

That's the video of this. 

And so does the twerking girl want to be with 50 on the day? 

I don't know, but she's on the. 

There. Or is she happy to twerk on the yard? OK, we'll twerk 4 yacht. 

With the old guy. Well, it's a nice. Yacht it's very nice yacht. Very nice build. Sure, who wouldn't? Really, it was from the second album, the Massacre. 

I don't know if I can. 

Are produced by Scott Storch of Lean Back Fame and Scott Storch has been described as the master of the Middle East and inspired since yes. 

Well, I can hear it in there. I mean it's like. 

To define the era, I feel like you're like rubbing a lamp. It's very Aladdin, isn't it? 

Yes, and that'll do. Yeah. So you've gone to like the you've gone to the Indian restaurant on the Wednesday night and unfortunately for you, you didn't realise that they have a live belly dancer in. 

Than a magic carpets. Ohh, isn't that awkward when they come up really close to you and it's I've seen. 

And. It's what it is. 

Husbands get angry at. 

That husbands get angry. 

The like. Ohh no wives, not husbands. Sorry wives cause the belly dancer goes near the husbands and the. 

The husbands get angry like, well, you never do that after you've given me a meal. 

No, I meant I meant wives. I've seen. I've seen that happen. 

Yes, because the husbands in this life, alright, not only am I gonna get some, like nice lamb saag, but I'm, but I'm gonna. 

The wives are like oh. You stop looking at her. Can you do that? Does that still happen in the Indian restaurants? 

Yeah. Yeah. Well. 

We've been in one when there's been. A belly dancer. 

I've seen a belly dance that's pretty close. To a lap dance. 

Really had an Indian restaurant. 

I've seen belly dance I've seen. It get a bit sexual. 

Yes. And will I excuse me? You spill your lassie on your trousers. Like I didn't have it, Lassie. 

Ohh dear, but yeah, he Scott Storch back to Scott in the Middle Eastern inspired send briefs that defines the year lean back and baby boy he did. 

Smooth. 

Yeah, please, probably for the best. Mm-hmm. 

Yes. 

Baby boys. 

Yeah, that's right. The big 1/7. 

He probably did. Kiss. Kiss. By Holly Valance to be honest. 

I don't think he would stoop that low. 

So the the song is about a private encounter with the woman who is ready to do. It just a. Little bit it's. About 30 low. 

Just a little bit. 

Key intimacy not full Throttle club aggression. 

Hmm. 

That's what the word say, and he's got that low whisper that you love happening again, and we've talked about the video clip, so of course you watch the video clip. You're like, OK, I gotta read the comments. Go see what? 

Right. 

Yeah. 

People came to say first. In the comments and I think you'll find that that's the beach in Cancun. Yeah, great. We know so. 

Yes, the first thing. 

Cancer 2 times 5857. Producer how much base? 50 Cent yes. 50 Cent 2/7/09. 

Alright, it's 2700 and nine $0.50. 

He said I'm typing this from my Internet Explorer, so I hope it gets there in time. Happy New Year's 2006 Ashley M6454. Ha ha, I remember listening to this when I was like 10 and always worrying about getting in trouble with my parents. Heard it on my iPod Nano. 

Well, see, it's not a, it's not. This ain't the wiggles. 

You don't want it in your nano. 

Yeah, definitely don't want to do. You know? No, I mean, could you imagine, like, the wiggles doing, you know, Captain, Feather sword doing just a little bit? 

In your earbuds. Seductive $0.50. 

Would be ohh. Dear horrifying 10 years old, you can't listen. 

Redacta. 

To that. Rodaka rodaka sounds like you've erased part of it that you don't want this redacted. 

Rebecca. Here I am still listening to this. In 2021, I was a younger woman when this came out, but now I'm a grand. Grandmas don't listen to things like that. 

Gonna take my teeth out just a little bit. 

Shallow The God, 3618. My snotty rich grandma might have been Rebecca bought me this album when I was 7. Laugh Face dead, dead face. Skull dead when I was 7 my grandma bought me this when I was. 

Ohh my. Yeah, that's hilarious. 

Years old. Seven. That's not great. Dear too, that's a blue light disco. Do you have just a little bit by 50? You're 7. 

Here's the best comments from Levox Arslan. 

Hmm. 

From three years ago, Yep. People who dislike this need to do a COVID test because they have no taste. And then Patrick Grondine 8240 replies. No offence, but COVID-19 is not a thing to joke about. 

Three years ago, it might not have been, but it is now. That's hilarious. But how's that? That's just blogging, 101. There it is right there. 

Need to take a COVID test cause you got. No. Taste. Think you'll find COVID-19 is not something to joke about. Let's keep. 

You. Ohh and you gotta take the. Moral high ground, yes. 

It nice here. 

Hmm, yeah, that is. I reckon Patrick Grondine's 8240 would be one of those people that would. 

Come on, everybody. He said he'd be a moderator on a. 

No, I think he'd. I think he'd announced when he's leaving. I'm leaving this notice board group because everyone is just so rude to each other and this is the last that you'll hear of me. You know, people be like like, it's not a. Departure. Lounge you don't need to announce when you're leaving. 

Thank you, Patrick. 

Yeah. 

Alright, album releases we had demon days from gorillas, second studio album. Me too, yeah. 

Oh, sure. 

Really liked gorillas. Fun and just chilled. And I liked the fact that they didn't have. They were fictitious. Basically, they were a cartoon. I mean, we all know it was Damon Albarn from blur and and Jamie Hewlett, I think was the the guy that did all the drawings for the tank girl comic. And I I just that appealed to me because it was like this, this blending of comic books and music, which I thought. 

Hmm. 

Was cool, but this one. Was a bit darker than their first album too. And a little bit more experimental as well. So they have like themes of like war and climate collapse and consumerism. I mean, this is, you know, middle of the Iraq end of the Iraq war, isolation, addiction. 

Hmm. 

And but it was still really nice and catchy and pleasant to listen to. 

Hmm. 

And and this one also in spite of being pleasant to listen to, was a concept album which was based on surviving a big, long apocalyptic night and then emerging into hope by dawn. And I think there was two big tracks on those. Feel good ink, which was the. 

Hmm. 

Big one, but then dare which I loved. 

On you, you. 

Just very clever and very good number one in the UK. Reach number six on the US Billboard 200 / 8 million copies worldwide. Multi platinum in multiple countries, although in Australia you only need to sell like 6, you just do that at your merch stand. Really. Yeah. So that was big. And then there was another big album release also from. 

Oh. 

Just a huge wrapper. 

You can't now. Now it's the French. 

In case you forgot or fell off, I'm still hot. Knock your sell off my money stack fat. Plus, I can't turn the swell off. 

Can't turn this swell off. 

You hear that song now, and all you hear. Is John Cena sucks. 

Yeah, they all do. The John Cena sucks. I did not realise that he put out an entire album. The the Doctor of Thuganomics. He committed, he fully committed. 

A whole album, not just that song. 

Did. He really did. 

So that was, was that called the timers now or was it called? You can't see. 

That's called. That was called the time, isn't it? Yes, you can't see me. It was like just the leery. Yes. And that was one of his wrestling. Was there any? Every time you hear that now it's like he comes out, you know, he's coming. He comes. 

The time is now with the horse. That was the. Yeah, the forest. 

In China, I think I'm not sure because I can't see him. Hmm. Ohh. 

All the feelings now, though right now was an introspective song about choices, pressure and legacy. Yeah. Bad, bad man, which was a parody of the A-Team. Yes, complete with him hamming it up. Hmm. And Bean Town, which is a love letter to Boston. And one of the albums most lyrically. Hot truck featuring Michael and saves. 

You know what you, you wanna. You wanna? You wanna throw stones? You wanna throw stones? But it debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200. It's sold over 143,000 copies in its first week. 

Gosh, that's pretty good, actually, isn't. 

And it it eventually became certified platinum. So they're way more successful. You know, I can't criticise too much because when I was a kid, when I was a kid, I'm an adult and I still love. But when I was a kid, I had the very first wrestling album with all of their songs on it and. I. 

What was it called? 

It was called the wrestling. 

Album it wasn't on cassette. 

Yes, and it had songs by I I I lost it. But when I went through my whole hey, we've got a cassette deck. 

Have you still got it? 

Ah. 

Hmm. 

Thing I purchased a new copy on eBay and I have it sitting there and it's treasured. 

What's the Best Song on it? 

The best? Well, it's got like used to have Hulk Hogan's theme from the 80s, like Real American, which was pretty huge. There's I liked. I actually liked the opening track where they did the song land of 1000 dances, you know? Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah, Nah, no that. 

Did it have any restless singing? Ohh, here comes the hot stepper by any commodities. 

But they did a wrestling version of it, and it was pretty great. It was pretty great. So there you go. I can't be throwing stone, so I just think it's interesting. It's interesting, I. Mean you can't see. 

And it did really well. Yeah. Yeah, well. 

I see. 

It's great. So there you go, Johnson. 

Maybe it's time for a 20 year anniversary re release. 

I don't know. I think John Cena. 

With some promotional jorts. 

I don't know what John Cena is doing to his legacy at the moment, but I kind of. 

Hmm. 

Like it I do. 

No, I don't like evil John Cena. I don't know. 

You don't like evil scene? 

And you know how I had the theory that this was all like he's like the rocks possessed him and then he's gonna become good again. I heard him talking today and he's like, and everybody thinks that I'm gonna turn good again and I'm not. And I was. 

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 

Like Ohh is that. How? He said it. No, not like that it was. 

I. Gonna say because? Yeah. 

A bit more profound that was me translating. That's the that's translated into Camba, but he said it. 

A bit more eloquently than that. 

I'm like, wow, he's so articulate. You should put out a rap album. Ohh, just very quickly before we go to the next segment, we should say at the time of recording WrestleMania hasn't actually happened. So I'm not really sure, but it will happen. It's happening like tomorrow or the day after very, very interested to see what happens and that gives you some idea. I think we broke the 4th wall there so you know. 

Yes, yes, yes. 

Who broke Kay fabe? 

Broke Kay fabe. It's a shoot, not a work. Nobody knows what we're saying. You can't see it. 

Get me my joys. 

Oh. 

Oh. 

I am AM. Starting to get very attached to to this segment. 

Me too, but mainly because it means I can just ***** and moan and hold it all in till now. 

I I feel like it's a it's a quote, John Cena, a toxic relationship because it's. I identify with all of this stuff, but then when I do it, I I get introspective and I'm like, what happened to me. 

Just to be so cool. 

We open it but, but this is it. I should also say that we need to, like, throw off the shackles of that, cast the yoke away. 

And now I'm not learning this. 

Because opening up the boom box is where we experience true freedom, true freedom, where we can actually throw our boomer complaints without judgement out into the well. It's not a void because ears are picking it up and hearing it and hopefully identifying with it and feeling a little bit better inside yourself. 

It's like breathing with the flower. Yeah, nodding along and going, I feel that. I feel that to my core. 

And you are. You are welcome to send your everyday boomer style complaints to us. 

Same. 

Hmm. 

Via our DMS on any of our social channels and and they you you don't, you never know your luck, you you actually there's no luck if you send us a boom we will absolutely talk about it so please. 

Oil philtre. 

Or do a voice note, we've said that. Do a voice. 

You do a voice note and unless unless it's like. 

Note and we'll play your voice. In the show, be in the show with us. 

Rubbish. 

You're absolutely gonna get a. 

Run. Yeah. And like, we'll, we'll hear your voice and we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll play it and you get to hear yourself in the show. Amazing. How much fun is that? 

Exactly. I don't want to sound desperate, but I think this is week six or seven of opening up the boom box and we haven't. Had many nibbling. 

We've had a we've had about 6:00, but a lot of them were the same. A lot of people have the. Same complaints. 

Hmm. 

Which is fine. We're all in this together. 

And that's alright. 

We're pretty savvy. We can find those shared experiences. It is a safe space and I understand if you don't want to approach us yet and you don't feel safe, that's OK. We'll continue to to, to share booms and and when you do feel comfortable, it is absolutely OK for you to do so. 

We're all in this all in this together, just like COVID. All over again. That's fine. 

We're here for you. 

Yeah. 

OK. 

Are you ready? Yeah. The six boom is from Poppa Poppa. Yes. OK. Do kids even get chased by dogs anymore? This generation don't go through ****. 

Never getting chased by dogs. 

Ohh my God. So many times. 

Dogs weren't even in yards when we were kids. 

That's why you had the bottles of water around the bushes cause the dog would just come on your front lawn and **** on us all the time. There was a dog in our street, no joke. Got run over six times and was still alive and it was a little dog. It was a little yappy dog and it used to chase me when I was on my bike. 

Coming to you where I am? Yes or worse. Really, that's a tough dog. Yeah, yeah. 

And it would bite me on the. 

Heel. Yeah. So yes. Similar lived experience when I was living in a very small country town we used to, we had a laneway behind our house and we used to get on our BMX's and it was a straight line. It was the most boring as **** thing, but we used to ride our BMX's as fast as we could to the end of the laneway and back. Yeah. And then suddenly somebody. 

Hmm. 

Moved in. They had two Chihuahuas, 2 Chihuahuas who used to like relentlessly chase us on our BMX's and they were terrifying little souls. 

Oh ****. 

Little ********. 

On the chased me was called Cindy and it was like a hairy Jack Russell or something. And then across the road from Cindy was Sandy. Sandy was Sandy was like a golden retriever cross with the Labrador and Sandy would hump me up my leg so it would chase me and I'd have to run so that I wouldn't get humped. 

Yes. 

Yes, Cindy and. Oh well, that's a bit revolting. And then molested you. 

By. Andy, on the leg and then there were Blue Heelers and Red Heelers. And you know those mixed dogs. And they just, they'd chase you. They'd always chase you. You just run as fast as you could and. 

He was in the neighbourhood, yeah. They would chase it. 

Get in the front door. Before it bit you like. 

It's. A terrifying, terrifying wild dog. 

That doesn't happen anymore, does it? 

Wild dogs roaming the streets. No, I was always. 

Yes. 

You know the scariest thing about me? 

And how many times did you step? In dog it as a kid. 

Ah heaps heaps. 

It was everywhere cause the dogs were all on the. Streets. 

Don't get me started. I'll go back to community Noticeboards in a second, but there is a lot of dog food in our suburb and I've mentioned it a couple of times, you know on. 

Pooping. There is. 

The community, you know. 

Not the same as when you're a kid, though. 

Sports. Again. Just put it in that digit. And storage locker, where my footprint exists? No, but the scariest thing about the trial is that used to chase me was if they had her come into contact with one of our pedals while we were. But we would have killed them. 

The metal panels. 

This generation don't go through well. No, that's not true. They do go through a little bit like Ridley Scott is still making movies in this day and age. And he was he was. Ohh. No. Look, I Ridley Scott makes good films and bad films and he rushes through his films and he makes good films. That could be good turn. 

Are you not a fan? 

Bad if that makes any sense. 

I'd say he's sloppy. 

I like Ridley Scott. I love gladiator alien. One of the greatest films of all time, you know. But Kingdom of Heaven, which was the number one in the US box office? This historical drama? Yeah, we've been through gladiator with him and he just kind of wanted to do another one. I was set during the 12th century. 

Period. 

Crusades. Themes of religion, politics, personal redemption, and I was like, Nah, I'm out. 

Be without fear. In the face of your enemies. Safeguard the helpless, even if it leads to your death. That is your oath. Rise and night. Rise a night. 

What becomes of us? 

The world will decide. 

The world always decides. 

The new World and better world than has ever been seen there. You are not what you were born. But what do you have it in yourself to be a Kingdom of conscience and peace instead of war, love instead of hate? That is what lies the end of crusade. 

Ohh, it's so epic and orchestral. I mean the Crusades, I think for starters, very problematic subject matter for films like this is basically the Christians going into the Muslim territory trying to indoctrinate. Them and, you know, conquer. Conquer them religiously. 

Hmm hmm. 

The cast Orlando Bloom as as Balian of Ibelin, Eva Green as Sybilla, Sibilla of Jerusalem. Jeremy Irons played Tiberius, etcetera, he said. I think Brendan Gleeson was in there as Raynald of Chatillon and Liam Neeson as Godfrey of Ibelin, who was balanced father Orlando Bloom's dad. He was in there too, Edward Norton. As well, King Baldwin the. The fourth he was uncredited. He had a mask on it with Norton in it because his character had. Leprosy, who was it? Ohh. Leprosy. Yeah, Edward Norton from Fight Club. Yeah, great actor. Great actor. Yes. Yeah. Don't mind a movie with a bit of leprosy in it. 

That, that's that garden. OK, let's proceed. That's good. Leprosy hasn't really featured. He hadn't really featured in anything since that Christian stuff we watched in RE about Mother Teresa. I haven't seen a good leprosy film since RE in like, Year 8. 

Yeah, you know. What? Maybe I should. Maybe I should give it another go based on the leprosy. 

Did he? Did he rock the leprosy? Do you think? Did he wear it well? 

Well, Edward Norton rocks every role that he's in. I reckon he would have been Edward Norton I. 

Ohh, you haven't seen it. 

You know what? 

I'm gonna. 

Watch at at the risk of putting my credibility at stake for the rest of this segment. No, I haven't seen it. Mel, thanks for outing me. It follows Bally and the French blacksmith who, after personal tragedy, joined his estranged father on a journey to Jerusalem during the Crusades. Hey, Dad, like, yeah, things aren't going well. Can I come on the crusade. 

Fuel leprosy. 

OK. 

Sure, son. Hop on board. Upon his dad's death, he gets the title and land. He becomes a knight. He goes to Jerusalem, he gets embroiled in political and religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims, and defends the city against Saladin's forces. There I you know what I think I might have seen it, but I just, there was a lot of those kind of movies. 

There was at that time. 

Yeah, hovering around like there's. I think there was a kid, King Arthur. One called Arthur. Not to be mistaken for the Dudley Moore film of the same name. So, you know, there was a few around the this cost $130,000,000 to make, which I think was how much the movie we're talking about last week made in total. The and the domestic box office in the USA, Canada 47.4 million International One 64.3 million worldwide total. 211.6 million. So they scraped in there, they made their money back and a little bit of profit, but. 

Hmm. 

Controversy. 

I I just I I I I honestly can't remember if I've seen it or not. So I'm gonna say that it wasn't great based on that. 

Well, a lot of people dropped into the comments. 

And with the with the director. 

And and started with. 

A I think you'll find that. 

With a director like Ridley Scott. Generally, if you see something that he's made you remember seeing it like Prometheus, for better or worse, you still remember it. Gladiator gladiator too, for better or worse. But anyway, yes there you go. 

Hmm. 

But yes, there are a lot of. I think you'll find that there was a lot of controversies saying that there were inaccuracies. 

Really. Ohh no. Ridley Scott directed a film and they were inaccuracies. 

People appreciated the trying to depict the complexity of the Crusades, but people were saying no, just historians in particular. But no, this is not what went down. You're wrong. You're wrong. 

Ridley, I hear what you're saying, but, mate, this is this is not not accurate, no. 

I and it was during ongoing, obviously Middle East conflicts as well. So that made it a bit controversial too. It was also #1 here in Australia though, so we liked it. 

I just I I think you'll find, especially when you're looking at all these glamorous actors like Orlando Bloom and Eva Green and Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson and maybe not Jeremy Irons. His teeth ain't so good. But where they're in these period dramas during the 12th century crusades and they've got perfect pearly whites. 

In lovely hair. Where are you getting your hair done? 

Yeah. And I'm just like, where are you having a bath? Who's? You know, do you know? Right. Like you you couldn't have achieved that. Look back then on your own. 

Yeah. 

Onion. 

If at all. 

It's just not realistic, is it? 

No, it's not. I tell you what is realistic, though. The show blue water high, which debuts on the ABC. I've told classic teen drama series. I vaguely remember it. I I was a bit. 

Oh, do you remember this one? 

I. It, yeah. 

Old for it. I have to say it was on ABC. It was set against the backdrop of the northern beaches in Sydney. It followed a group of teenagers selected to attend solar Blue, which was a surf Academy. Yes, yes. And do you know what I was looking for? A trailer for it. And they're all pretty average and stuff. And then I stumbled across a fan made trailer for it, which. 

Ohh gosh. 

Is. Amazing. 

Surf's up, it's time to meet the new recruits and brand new blue water high. 

You guys have a great opportunity so. 

Mike monster. 

They're waxing down their boards, ready to carve up the waves. But who are these guys? Good question. Meet. Brooke, I keep thinking I'm going to. Wake up and none of this be real surfing. Made Corey. 'S fearless Rachel, I'm really going to give it to those guys daydreamer Amy. 

Takes your breath away. I feel like I've landed in paradise. 

Not forgetting hope, like Eric and Mike. Time to have fun. Series 2 blue Water Hive starts this Monday at 6:00 PM. Ohh boomerang. It's even better. 

Someone made that themselves. 

I I think so, it said, it said in the description. Like, here's a trailer I made for this show. I'm not entirely sure, but I'm like. 

That's incredible. That person needs an award. Do you know how hard it is to voice promo trailers in around the socks? That was incredible. 

Blue water high can sign. Me up. That sounds amazing. I'm there no better. 

It does. I don't think it was that exciting really. Well, 16 year old surfers, intensive programme, balancing academic responsibilities through your service training covered files. People loved the first season I was reading reviews of it, but once you got to the third season they felt there was too much. 

Good premise. Good premise. Hmm. Alright, no surfing until you've finished your homework. 

And fighting and ********. People stopped watching it. Yeah, itchy, ******. 

Really trying to reach, you know, I mean, there's only so much you can do like. It's a it's a simple existence. Surfing and going to school. It's kind of the you're kind of going to run out of ideas at the end of the second season. If we're being honest. 

Hmm. 

I'm not sure for anything else. 

Hmm. 

Leprosy. There's been an outbreak of leprosy at Blue Water High. 

What a. 

Hmm, maybe you know, maybe there was, like, a water quality incident at blue water high in one of them. Kate Brown. Yeah. Picking up what I'm putting down. Yes. Yeah. I mean, there would have been a shark episode. 

Just floating? Just an idea. Code brown code. Code brown. Ohh yeah Yep. 

Sure. 

Do you know what I did then for sure? 

Yeah. 

******* next segment. Let's go. 

No, I completely missed it that. 

Was good books is this? 

Well. 

A book. It's a publication. It's not actually. 

Ohh, it's a publication. What are we doing? These publications we didn't read definitely didn't read this one. Never read it before in my life. Don't even know what you're talking about. What backy she used to know. Never. 

That simple. 

I have feeling might have. 

I. 

Feel like you may have some back issues of this publication from. 12th of May 2005 footprint not a not a New York Times bestseller, but we have the makeover of Penthouse. 

Might have something in my digital. Storage locker. No. Ohh yeah, what's that? What's a penthouse? 

Cleaning up its pages and a move towards more upmarket erotica. 

Really, I think I've got some music for this. Yeah, alright. Sorry. Yes. No, they stripped out of the raunchy back of the book ads for phone sex, escort services and ******** videos, amongst other things. Apparently. Is that. 

Right. I think they were losing advertise. Thing people were like, you know? 

Yeah. We don't really get our sex on the phone anymore. We get. It on the Internet, yeah. 

On the Internet, yes, for free. It was just one of several changes trying to. Lure back the advertisers were a little bit. 

Lua I don't think like lure and. That's just. That's great. Yeah. 

Win back a bit turned off by the ******** content, so they hired writers to expand into sports, music and gadgets while scaling back on the. 

Well, that's nice. 

Surely explicit functions? 

I only read it for the articles anyway, so that's really good. Good. 

Penthouse is one of those ones at the Cambar newsagency where it would be in a plastic bag and then it would have a piece of paper over the front of it, just where the book where the ***** were. Yeah, they'd cover it up. And you're like, I know, I know there's ***** under there or you'd shake if you'd shake the packet around the. 

Over the over the rude bits, yes, but you can still see their sexy faces making sexy eyes. That's it. Yeah. Then I'm. Gonna. 

The piece of paper would move like. 

And I'm a teenager with a very furtive and active imagination, so I'm just gonna. 

I saw a little bit of **** there. 

Leave. 

Remember that though the whole section of of adult magazines back in the day, you'd be down there to to get some photo, to photocopy your assignment, you get a folder to put it. 

Yeah. 

Yeah, you'd walk through it really quickly, walk through it really quick. Yeah. 

In. And there would be all those magazines. There's naughty magazines. 

I don't know what you're talking about. Never seen them before. No, but they did. They hired writers and stuff like that. They actually did put articles in there that people could only read them for. Yeah. And they said they said that they were fixing a lot of things that were broken. That was Mark Bell, the the Co CEO. Like, advertisers don't want to advertise us. 

Yes, just reading it. The articles, yes. 

Hmm. 

With this in the back of the book and all of that sort of stuff, because it's all getting a. Glued so. 

Well, I think they they started going more ******** than Playboy. They got like really. 

Yeah. Really. Ohh yeah. I mean, I don't know what you're talking about, did they? OK, well, Mark Bell, the the he was this venture capitalist. He he put like a whole bunch of money into it to revive the brand. That music's getting way too raunchy and that's why the writers and stuff came in. 

4. 

At one stage. Did. 

Obviously, you know, he just he wanted to sort of refocus. This it's very hard to refocus. 

Yeah, yes, yes, very hard. Yes. How do you rebrand that? 

When your flagship is basically Titan Arm, you know and the thing with I think that was that was the thing with with Penthouse is there was a bit more of the of the the the nethers that than Playboy or Nethers as well so. 

Yes, yes, more, more never than. 

More regions than others. 

That's what it looks like, yeah. 

Probably not. It still exists the magazine. The significant changes over the years, I think it's digital only these days the format yeah, transitioned to that in 2016 after more than 50 years in print. 

Yes. 

Really. Yeah. 

They have special editions. Yeah. And they also maintain an archive of the past editions dating back to the early 2000s. So if you'd like to see the articles from 2005, sure, you could pay for that. 

That's good. 

Yeah. Or if you're a former model, you could see what it used to. 

That's cool, man. 

Look like I guess I I I like. I. It was definitely a a better time when *********** was only accessible in that way. Think. I really. 

There was an air of mystery with that little paper insert in the plastic bag those these days. 

An air of ministry. It's kind of exciting as a as a teenage boy to accidentally stumble across *********** because because it wasn't so readily found so it. Was. Like a magic treasure. Ohh my God, you know. 

Oh. 

These days you're shopping for a new T shirt and pops up out of nowhere surprises you? No. 

And I like I I don't wanna open. I don't wanna open the boom box again, but I actually, I should turn a **** music off. I genuinely think that the way *********** has gone. 

But you will. 

Over the last probably 10 or 20 years has really us up as a civilization. Like really ****** people up and I don't think that we acknowledge how much it has us up. I'm sorry to get all serious on you, but it is very true, I think like. 

I think. So. 

Hmm. 

I think in terms of expectations and ideas of of what intimacy is like, particularly for young people who. Are accessing it online and that's their first, I guess foray into that world. It creates this expectation that this is what intimacy looks like and people are accessing it at crazy young ages and it's not. It's not just a pair of ***** popping out of a swimsuit. 

Yes. As far from that and I think that that is. 

It's a bit scary. 

Dump. Like. Yeah, and we don't. And the, the, the, the. Well, the other problem is is that complete is complemented by not having proper conversations about sex with people as well, right? 

Hmm. 

Ah. 

I'll get back down off my high horse now and move into the hatches, matches and dispatches segment and. Well, look, we're very lucky this week because we have a celebrity birth as somebody who was born this time 20 years ago who is not. 

OK, good. Hmm. 

Not a social media influencer who didn't become famous from doing a MCR's or tik toks, or is not an Instagram model. 

Not an ASMR. Lip syncing. 

Hmm. 

But have achieved a great amount of success. Their their birthday was on the 8th of May and they said this. 

I'm training physically, especially my neck to make sure I'm ready, but yeah, I just really can't wait to get started. 

Yeah. If you said this is going to be interesting. Do you know who? 

Yes. 

I do because I can see it written there. Yes, but I do because I watched. 

Oh, that's because you updated the chat. The show. Wow, that was really 4th wall went well. Formula One driver, Ollie Bierman. You would be correct, 20 years old Ollie Bierman. 

I do know who he is because we. 

Born on the 8th of May, Motörhead Day, the 8th of May. Sorry. 

We've been watching him on drive to survive. 

We have and I think it's appropriate that Ollie Berman, the Formula One driver, was born on the 8th of May, Motörhead Day. 

British Formula One driver currently racing for half member of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2021, made his F1 debut in March 2024 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. 

Uh-huh. 

Stepping in for Carlos Sainz was that when he was getting his appendix. Out. 

Yes, that's right. And and so he was in the Ferrari for this. He qualified 11th and finished 7th and he was the youngest Briton to score. 

Hmm, that was big weeds. 

It's on debut and and the first English driver, the race for Ferrari since the 90s. 

And look at this moment for the 18 year old, he would have been dreaming of keeping behind him Lando Norris and seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Russell will be 6, but on his Grand Prix debut after getting the late late call from Ferrari. It's brilliant beerman. As he crosses the line to finish 7th on debut, take a bow. Young man. What a brilliant race that was. 

Yeah. Good on you, Ollie beerman. He was a go. Carter. Like they all are. He started driving go karts at 8 years old. Wow. What were you doing at 8 years? I was playing with Matchbox Cars in a sand pit at 8 years old. 

Oh. 

I think they all are, aren't they? Yeah. We had a a Billy cart is a Billy cart. 

I had the and you know what? I had the racing car, I had the racing car. #8 cake from the from the Women's Weekly Cookbook at eight years. 

That's the easy one to make. I think your mum took the. Easy way out. 

I'd. I'd be very careful with how you choose your words. Well, actually, you've chosen them already, so you can wear that. That's fine. OK, I won't. She listens. 

Don't tell her I said that. The pool. The pool was. Oh, no, the pool wasn't hard. The the ice cream castle. That was the hardest one with that frosting. The duck was also difficult. The chip, it's chips. 

The ice cream pastries. Was difficult. The duck was difficult as well because you had to do the the had you had to find the exact right fate chips. For. The beef, yes, but yes. But at 8 years old. 

For the beach and it had piping. Yeah, 1. 

He didn't give it about a race car cake cause he was a race car cake. Yes, he was carting. 

He was a race car. He was, yes, he advanced through the ranks pretty quickly, finished third in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2022. Yeah, we'll move to formula 2 with Prema Racing in 2023, winning multiple race victory. 

Of course. 

He's, and he's been very impressive, so full time F1 seat with Haas. I like Haas. That's one of. My favourite teams. 

Yeah, they're kind of the underdogs. They really are. 

And I like alpha Tori as well. 

I liked Haas more when Gunter was in. 

Haas yeah, he was good, wasn't he? He was fun. It's a great show. Formula One. Drive to survive. Don't watch it. 

Yeah, he really was. Yeah, I with our son is a big fan of Formula One and as a consequence, so are we now and I'm glad I quite enjoy it and. 

Yeah. 

I like all the drivers. I like the French. Ones, actually, they're my favourites. The French I like. 

I do. Yeah. I like the arrogant one. It's like Fernando Alonso, but I like. I like Ollie. Beard as well. 

I like Pierre Gasly. And who's the other French? 

He's pretty cool. 

The Nice accent to. Like him, he's good too. Yeah. 

Charles Leclerc, Charles Leclerc, Charleroi. Yes. Well, I like Ollie Bearman who's having his 20th birthday. Can you believe it? He is responsible for, like, driving a very expensive motor car at breakneck speeds and getting paid millions. 

Yeah, I like him. Yeah, he's got a he's got a cute dog. Happy. 20 driving at those speeds. 

Dollars on his 20th birthday. I mean, my God, he'll never have to work another day in his life for as long as he lives. But you know many happy returns to you. Good luck. I'm glad your life turned out really good. Great. Thank you very much. That's the end of the podcast. And we've got stuff next week. But you can find out that next week, I reckon. Yes, in the meantime. 

Hmm. 

Show groups. 

We might give you some hints as to what's happening next week in the. Socials. Right. Facebook. Yeah, sure. Instagram, TikTok. Search for t -? 20 podcast or at T -? 20 podcast. If you wanna post a witty comment that you expect us to. 

See Boo Mattis. 

Well. 

You can boom at us as well. 

Tell us about the last time you got chased by a dog. Were you chased by Cindy or Sandy, or the Chihuahuas or a blue heeler? 

That's right, exactly. There were lots of dogs called Cindy back in there. I I would say kind of we should acknowledge that a little bit more. 

Cindy was a big dog man. And Cindy and Sandy were friends. One was a big dog, one was a small dog, and Cindy, who got run over by the cars, would chase the cars and then many cars ran over Cindy. Cindy lives in the house that you don't like in. 

Yes. Yes, of course. That's how Cindy got run over by them. 

My parents St. 

Oh. Let's not get too specific, right? 

We won't out. Then we won't say the number. But you. There's a house you didn't like it yesterday. You said something about it. Cindy lived there. You didn't like it? 

Oh yeah, they're constantly it just it's just in a constant state of renovation. And I think it's, I think it's just it's become tacky, everything looks half finished anyway. Speaking of half finished, we're not gonna half finish. We're gonna wrap it up right there. Come find us on the socials. 2 months, 20 podcasts, say g'day. And thank you once again for your patronage. 

You weren't happy with the Renaults? 

Hmm. 

We love the support. We love doing this for you. It's it's a labour of love. We don't profit from it in any way, shape or form, but in some ways we do profit in it. 

No. 

And it's it's more of a spiritual profiting. And our hearts are full. And that's all because of you. So thank you. And we'll see you next week. 

Thanks for taking the time to rewind. Join us next time for another week. That was 20 years ago. In the meantime, come and reminisce on the socials search for T -, 20 podcast on Facebook. 

Guys. 

Instagram and TikTok.