GUEST: Richard
Belzer--the veteran comedian-actor perhaps best known as Detective
John Munch on "Law & Order SVU," also seen earlier
this summer as a celebrity judge on "Last Comic Standing"--discusses
his role as spokesperson for the North Shore Animal League
America (based in Port Washington, NY, NSALA is the largest
no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization in the world)
and its national "Paws-i-dential" adoption campaign
tied to the Presidential election, describes how his beloved
adopted dog Bebe (whom he rarely goes anywhere without, including
TV sets and stages) entered his life and effectively rescued
him, addresses the multiple virtues of animal adoption and
related hope for an evolution to a time when all animal shelters
and organizations are no-kill, responds to various callers
and e-mailers, and more. [www.NSALAmerica.org,
www.AnimalLeague.org] COMEDY CORNER: Sean Cullen's "Cats"
(www.SeanCullen.com) MUSIC: Miles Davis' "Bye Bye Blackbird,"
The Pixies' "Monkey Gone To Heaven," instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Norma Tanega's "Walking
My Cat Named Dog
GUEST: Amy Shever--founder
and director of 2nd Chance 4 Pets, an animal welfare organization
that seeks to reduce the number of family pets unnecessarily
euthanized due to the death or incapacity of their human companions--discusses
her extensive animal shelter experience and other rationales
behind creating 2nd Chance 4 Pets, outlines the three basic
steps pet owners should take in planning to protect and provide
for their animals in their absence, observes that this concern
should not be considered the province of the elderly, addresses
the relevant dramatic rise lately of home foreclosures and
the attendant huge numbers of animals left behind and uncared
for as owners lose their homes, and more. [www.2ndChance4Pets.org,
www.AnimalLeague.org] COMEDY CORNER: Margaret Cho's "Martha/Arnold"
(snippet) (www.MargaretCho.com) MUSIC: Bill Frisells' "Raccoon Cat,"
My Morning Jacket's "Cobra," instrumentals NAME
THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Tom Jones' "What's New Pussycat"
GUEST: Dr. Carole Noon--founder and director
of Save The Chimps, the world's largest sanctuary for rescued
chimpanzees, based in Fort Pierce, FL--discusses the formative
stages of her career as a primatologist, the history and
evolution of Save The Chimps (including the pivotal role
the Coulston Foundation and its chimps played in this saga),
the condition and behavior of chimps before they arrive
at the 200-acre Florida facility and after, the process
of forming groups of about 20 chimps to relocate from the
New Mexico Save The Chimps location to the Florida one where
each group occupies a three to five acre island, the varying
views on the virtues of biomedical research conducted on
chimps, how the organization is funded, the rationale behind
the decision not to make Save The Chimps open to public,
and more. [www.SaveTheChimps.org] COMEDY CORNER: Brian Regan's "Whale
Noises" (www.BrianRegan.com) MUSIC: Fela Kuti "Monkey Banana,"
Echo And The Bunnyman's "Monkeys," instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Steely Dan's "Monkey
In Your Soul"
GUEST: Pat Derby--co-founder
of The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), which operates
three animal sanctuaries in Northern California, among them
the 2300-acre ARK 2000, where upwards of a dozen elephants
live--discusses the needs of and challenges faced by captive
elephants; indicates that her view of elephants in zoos isn't
inherently one of opposition but involves a case-by-case examination
of that particular zoo, its personnel and treatment of the
elephants and techniques for training them; addresses, by
contrast, her absolutely unequivocal antipathy toward the
use of elephants in circuses, as well as her/PAWS' attendant
philosophical tenet that no animal should be forced into any
type of performing situation. [www.PAWSweb.org] COMEDY CORNER: Jeff Wayne's "When Animals
Attack Humans" (www.JeffWayne.com) MUSIC: Antibalas' "Elephant," Patrick
& Eugene's "The Birds & The Bees," instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Genesis' "The
Lamb Lies Down On Broadway"
There was no "Talking Animals"
broadcasts on these days because they were both pre-empted
by WMNF's
Fall Fund Drive, October 1-8.
A huge, heartfelt "thank you" to
all those who donated or otherwise supported the program--and
the station.
October 22, 2008
GUEST: Jon Katz--author of
17 books, including six novels and 11 nonfiction books (among
them, the New York Times bestseller "Dog Days"),
most recently, "Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, An Unexpected
Journey, and Me"--discusses various aspects of the work
as hospice volunteers that he and the titular Izzy (an abandoned
border collie Katz adopted) undertook, explains the emotionally-uplifting
impact of this work on Katz while briefly commenting on his
unrelated struggle with depression also chronicled in the
new book, speaks about the black Labrador puppy named Lenore
that also figures into the latest saga and the relevant issue
of buying a dog from a breeder relative to rescuing/adopting,
and more. [www.BedlamFarm.com] COMEDYCORNER: Mitch Hedberg's
"Headless Horseman" (snippet) (www.MitchHedberg.net) MUSIC: David Grisman's "Dawg's Bull,"
Eels' "Dog's Life," instrumentals NAMETHATANIMALTUNE:
Steve Miller "Fly Like An Eagle"
GUEST: Sherry Silk--Executive
Director of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay--discusses the
history and chief mission of the organization, the Fall Adoption
Expo slated for Nov. 15, HSTB's myriad efforts in the area
of animal adoption (including MAC, a 32-foot Winnebago outfitted
as a mobile adoption center), addresses the impact the economic
crisis has had on the animal welfare community, introduces
listeners to two adoptable animals she brought into the studio
(the white Chihuahua Irving, the black kitten George), touches
on how HSTB funds its programs and services, and more. [HumaneSocietyTampa.org] COMEDY CORNER: Mitch Hedberg's "Koalas"
(snippet) (MitchHedberg.net) MUSIC: Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross,"
Sunset Bridge's "Good Ole Dog," instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Koko Taylor's "Please
Don't Dog Me"
GUEST: Stacey O'Brien--author
of "Wesley The Owl: The Remarkable Love Story Of An Owl
And His Girl" -- discusses some of the experiences that
comprise her extraordinary and fascinating memoir about her
nearly two decades raising and living with the titular barn
owl, whom she met while a young assistant at the Caltech owl
laboratory and Wesley was an owlet with a damaged wing, which
would've prevented him from surviving in the wild. She addressed
the unyielding challenge of providing mice for Wesley (seeing
as Wesley displayed an unyielding appetite for mice, virtually
the only thing barn owls eat), how Wesley came to view her
as his mate (and how Wesley's attendant behavior proved to
be somewhere between difficult and repellent when it came
to human male suitors), how reacting to and disciplining Wesley
contrasted sharply with the way one does those things when
living with other animals, and more. [www.WesleyTheOwl.com] COMEDY CORNER: Tom Shillue's "Animal
Shows" (www.TomShillue.com) MUSIC: Angelo Badalementi's "Cool Cat
Walk," Justine Mayela's "Celebration For The Turkeys,"
instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Pink
Floyd's "Sheep"
Eels'
E Interview: Not On "Talking Animals," But
Certainly Animal Related...
I've long had Eels singer-songwriter
Mark Oliver Everett, aka E, on my wish list of potential
"Talking Animals" guests--well beyond the
L.A. band sporting an animal name, animals (both real
and metaphorical) are laced throughout the Eels' oeuvre;
E's dog Bobby is a notorious canine; and I'm a huge,
longtime fan of the band--and my interest only ratcheted
up several notches in October.
A
few things happened in October, among them:
PBS's Nova aired
"Parallel
Worlds, Parallel Lives," the BBC-produced,
award-winning documentary wherein E investigates
the pioneering work of his late father, Hugh Everett
III, a quantum physicist--at one point, an MIT scientist
equates Everett senior with Einstein and Newton.
His fantastic, highly-praised
memoir, "Things
The Grandchildren Should Know" was published
in the U.S. It's not for sissies. The book is brimming
with death and dying, including the premature death
of his Dad, the suicide of his sister Liz (his only
sibling), not long after which cancer claimed his
Mom. Yet, "Grandchildren" is also breezy,
often funny, and informed by E's remarkable, indomitable
spirit.
Word filtered out
that "Yes
Man," the new film starring Jim Carrey
and Zooey Deschanel would feature Eels songs old
and new, and perhaps further E involvement.
I've long thought
the Eels were a cult band housing a truly major
talent; I now think that more than ever.
So what better time,
really, to speak with E, which I did on Nov. 10--not
for "Talking Animals," after all, but for
the music show I host, the Wednesday Sonic Detour.
To read a post I wrote about E and Eels for my friend
Marty's After
Hours Music blog, please click here. To listen
to the conversation with E, please click
here. Thanks.
