Tag: YouTube

Episodes

Bored in the House!

themuglytruth
Today’s episode “Bored in the House” is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Are you bored in the house? Are you in the house bored? (thank you Tyga X Curtis Roach) Need a new hobby on the cheap? Want a fresh perspective on that old box of Chutes and Ladders? Today Kym drops some clues on inexpensive hobbies and Kris has trivia about board-games, jigsaw and crossword puzzles. Because singing a song about useless game knowledge on your guitar you just learned to play goes a long way with breaking the ice at your next Zoom par-tay! WHOOP WHOOP! BOARD IN THE HOUSE!

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Kym kicks things off with some great ideas for keeping your mind and body busy (Kris has not broken the couch/tv habit yet, but there is always room for hope). There’s always meditation and yoga, yah yah….but what about baking amazing bread? Go ahead and learn. Your jeans will thank you for giving them time off to pay more attention to your sweatpants. (You might want to channel your inner Great British Baking Show contestant Val, who always got her cardio in whilst whisking, so getting back into your jeans won’t take so long).

When was the last time you read a book? You don’t have to have an actual paper book, there’s always Kindle and iBooks, and if you’re broke – like the over 22 million other people in America on unemployment – you can “borrow” a digital book from your local library.

If reading ain’t your thing, how about starting an herb or succulent garden? No room? No problem…even apartment dwellers can have a tiny box garden to help spice up all those amazing meals they’re learning to cook via YouTube and TikTok. Speaking of, so you think you can dance? Go toe to toe with the rest of the world in 60 seconds or less with the latest TikTok dance craze.

Other ideas include candlemaking, writing, poetry, learn to crochet or knit, and learning calligraphy. And there’s always learning how to pick a lock. We’re just saying, use your newfound power for good.

Kris then gets into her portion of the episode, talking about the greatest American pastime: Crossword puzzles!!! YEAH! Baseball what? That’s right. Live life on the edge, do your puzzle with a pen. Boom. Cruciverbalists can thank Liverpool native Arthur Wayne who immigrated to America, and worked for the New York World as the editor for the “Fun” section of the paper. In 1913, for the Christmas edition, he spiced up the page with a new puzzle: a diamond shaped grid with the word FUN across the top to start readers off. The readers loved it and the rest is, as you know, history.

First crossword puzzle that appeared in the New York World paper Christmas, 1913. Created by Arthur Wayne. Photo from Wikipedia, public domain.

Moving on to more insanely fun and interesting history trivia, yeah, it’s all about jigsaw puzzles! We’ll wait while you catch your breath. It’s ok. We know. It’s almost too much to bear. Anyway, these puzzles have a longer history than our dear crosswords, having been around since the 18th century. Apparently cartographer John Spilsbury thought it would be a grand idea to whip out his hatchet, chop a wooden map into bits, and then ask friends to put the pieces back together. That must have been an amazing party.

Photo by Dmitry Demidov on Pexels.com

Kris rounds off this episode of majestic trivia with a (truly) fun list of facts about popular board games Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Clue, and Scrabble. For instance…do you know the name of the crook in Monopoly jail or the cop who put him there? Does Mr. Monopoly (not his first name, btw) actually wear a monocle? Do you know the origins of Chutes and Ladders were actually to teach karmic lessons? Yep, your 5 year old is playing a game meant to teach the difference between virtues like Faith or Kindness apart from evil behavior like Theft and Drunkeness. It’s the ol’ desire and destiny playbook for today’s recess boys and girls. Go ahead and read them the origin story of Cinderella for good measure. While the littles are napping and you nip out to buy more boxed wine, just mutter “MUZJIKS” (thank you Scrabble) in a bad Russian accent at people. Don’t forget to sneer. That should keep everyone 6 feet away at all times.

To read the articles we discuss, as well as other information we bring up in the episode, please check out the following links:

Quarantine 12 (11? 13? We can’t count them all) by Kym:

Kris calls Kym’s list, and raises her 6 more!

  • Ya’ll are drinking to that! Apparently American alcohol consumption is WAY up during these heady self-quarantine days.
  • You Say SATOR I Say RASTOR: Details on that cool little 5 word/25 letter palindrome can be found right here.
  • Game on! For all things Hasbro, including the games we mention above, go here.
  • X’s and O’s. For the December 2019 Smithsonian Magazine article by Deb Amien, please read How the Crossword Became an American Pastime. And now you know forever more pastime is not spelled with two t’s. The things you learn on the internet. My word. (See what we did there. That’s slap-your-knee HIIIIIIII-larious that is).
  • Pick Up the Pieces. To piece together the intricate history of the jigsaw puzzle (we’re beside ourselves with amazement at our ability to pun. We are also exceptionally tired), please read this June 2015 article at thegamewhiz.com: Interesting Facts About the Jigsaw Puzzle
  • Board in da House! Definitely check out this buzzfeed.com list of board-game trivia by Adam Ellis, 60 Facts About Board Games That Will Change The Way You Think About Family Game Night

Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Bored in the House!” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2020 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2020. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured photo of Bored Girl by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

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Second Harvest Food Bank and Patriotic Service Dog Foundation

themuglytruth
Today’s episode “Second Harvest Food Bank and Patriotic Service Dog Foundation” is on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Today’s episode of The Mugly Truth Podcast is an extra special one. We talk about our favorite foundations and encourage all our readers and listeners to check them out. Kym highlights the Second Harvest Food Bank and Kris talks about Patriotic Service Dog Foundation.

The Second Harvest Food Bank

The Second Harvest Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, which was started as St. Mary’s Food Bank by John van Hengel in Phoenix, AZ in the 1960’s. By the 1970s, 18 cities across the country soon had food banks. In 1979 Hengel created a national food bank which he called America’s Second Harvest the Nation’s Food Bank Network. In 2008 the name changed to Feeding America. The Second Harvest Food Bank Orange County is the chapter local to us personally, located in Irvine, CA. Their website, feedoc.org, is a wealth of information about the hunger statistics not only locally, but nationwide, as well as how to donate both money and time. For more information about a food bank in your hometown, please visit feedingamerica.org

The Facebook page for Patriotic Service Dog Foundation

Patriotic Service Dog Foundation is a group out of Murrieta, CA, dedicated to the training of service dogs for men and women suffering from PTSD after serving in the military, emergency response, and public safety. Recently they participated in a documentary, called To Be of Service (on Netflix), about how service dogs have helped improve the lives of these men and women. Currently Veteran’s Affairs does not pay for service dogs to be provided to veteran’s. Therefore all training costs are funded by private donations. We highly recommend viewing the documentary, and then visiting Patriotic Service Dog Foundation’s website and Facebook page.

Screenshot of the video with Chris, Jenn, and Emmy Thomas on Patriotic Service Dog Foundation’s Facebook page.

We also encourage you to watch the short video about Kris’ co-worker, Chris Thomas, and his wife Jenn, and how their lives have been changed by Emmy, Chris’ service dog from Patriotic Service Dog Foundation. In the podcast episode, Kris couldn’t remember the details of Chris’ service, or the battalion he served with, how it tied in with the Naval Base Guam’s war dog memorial, and Emmy’s name origin. Jenn was kind enough to text the details:

It was 23 years active duty with 18 months of active combat time, that time was split between Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, multiple times for each country. Chris served with the Magnificent Bastards which is an infantry battalion. That is also the same battalion that 25 war dogs gave their lives serving and protecting marines in WWII. The memorial is in Guam and that is where the dog’s names are listed, Emmy being one of them.

– Jenn Thomas
The memorial – called “Always Faithful” – to the 25 Marine War Dogs killed during WWII. Naval Base Guam .

When we say the Universe likes to show off sometimes, this is a pretty good example of exactly what we mean.

For more links, please check out the following:

  • Tackett Service Dogs Tom Tackett started Patriotic Service Dog Foundations, and is renowned for training dogs for competition, service, and obedience.
  • Jon Bon Jovi became involved with the documentary To Be of Service, writing the score and a single, called Unbroken, which you can view on YouTube.
  • For more information about the history of the dogs who served alongside Marines in the Pacific during WWII, check out k9history.org
  • For more details about the Naval Base Guam memorial, Always Faithful, by sculptor Susan Bahary, and the efforts of William Putney to create the memorial, please read more about the National War Dog Cemetery.

Check out “Second Harvest Food Bank and Patriotic Service Dog Foundation“ episode on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured Photo of Chris and Emmy courtesy of Kristen Core. All rights reserved.

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Who’s the Fairest Food of All?

themuglytruth
Today’s episode “Who’s the Fairest Food of All?” is on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

In case you didn’t hear us in our last episode: IT’S SUMMER TIME! This time of year hits and most people think of pool parties, barbecues, camping trips, and goin’ to the local fair. (TBH, we also think about air conditioning and how soon Halloween will be here.) And when you think of fairs, you think of… Rides? Weird people beckoning you to throw balls at things? Petting baby goats? The world’s biggest horse? Blue ribbons for best in show livestock, crafts, pies, and art? Yes, yes! Yes to all that amazing stuff. But one of the biggest draws to boogie on down to carnival-town for is the fantastic, fabulous, fried FAIR FOOD! (They have healthy options as well, but, CHYAA, AS IF! #eyeroll).

In case you were wondering.

If you are particularly interested in the marvel that is carnival food, and you have saved up a wad of cash and have prepared by fasting for two days, one of the most fun (we refuse to say funner…ew) things to do is eat your way through the fair. We would advise a well thought out plan for your day of stuff-n-play. Let us help with this: In a nutshell, do not eat your way around the fair and THEN go on rides. No one wants to deal with that. No. One. Ever. Don’t do it. Ride first, eat after. Morning = rides, afternoon into the night = fry coma. Stay hydrated. Take your acid relief medicine with you. Pro tip: SHARE. Do not try to go into that platter of Fries/Tots Brick topped with Jalapenos, Bacon and Cheese Dip solo. Split that foot-long dog drenched in four kinds of weirdness with a buddy or six. Share, people. There you go. Plan complete.

Get your Zyrtec® ready. Photo by Jer Chung on Pexels.com

Our local fair – The Orange County Fair (12 July – 11 August 2019) – has been around a lonnnnnng time (129 years to be exact) so their list of foodie-goodness is equally long. With the help of foodbeast.com we go through 125 OC Fair Foods you may or may not have heard of. Cotton candy? Check. Fried Pickles? Check check. Kettle Corn? Check Check CHECK! Fried Slimfast Bar? Where’s our pen…we can’t…there’s…no check-marking implement here. *looking…for…pen* Nope. No checkmark for Fried Slimfast Bar. Nope.

We also go through foodnetwork.com’s not-in-chronological/alphabetical-order list of many (sorry, Kris may have missed a couple) of the state fairs in the US with the food they’re most famous for. We throw in dates and locations from travelawaits.com for your convenience. There are some states we’re on board with (Hello Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Utah, and Tennessee…winkwink) and some we will be avoiding. Sorry Nevada, you just keep your Basque Fries to yo’self.

Basically, if you’re hungry, this episode is gonna make you want to drive to your nearest fairgrounds and dig right it. If you don’t have time for that (or the extra cash…because we don’t know about YOUR fair, but OUR fair is not cheap) we’ve got this handy-dandy link to foodiecrush.com with 25 fair food recipes you can replicate right in the air-conditioned, Netflix-blaring comfort of your own home.

Photo by Lalu Fatoni on Pexels.com

But before we cut you loose to check out this fair foodgasmic episode, here are some links to people and restaurants we mention:

  • Go check out listener Jill’s and her daughter Ruby’s prize winning table decorations at this year’s OC Fair!! Check out Jill’s Instagram page with photos from their Blue- and Red-ribbon tables.
  • The tiny Nathan’s Hot Dog champion Kris mentioned is named Sonya Thomas – nicknamed The Black Widow – and she is a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Hall of Famer!
  • To see two people eat a Depression Era-style sandwich mentioned in our episode – pickles and peanut butter – watch this YouTube video with Ali Spagnola and Shira Lazar. Let’s just say Kris might give it a go after seeing these two naysayers finish their sammich with nums and yums and much disbelief at the goodness.
  • Wikipedia does a much better job than Kris in describing the lovely Basque region and peoples.
  • What’s a Bierock? This is a bierock.
  • What’s a Koolickle? THIS is a Koolickle.
  • For chicken and waffles in Old Towne Orange, CA, (and other various locations in California, Las Vegas, NV, and SEOUL, KOREA) go to Bruxies. Be prepared to stand in line awhile with a bunch of 20-something hipsters nice Chapman College students.
  • For the best lobster roll on the west coast (according to Kym…well, she didn’t say THAT exactly…anyway, keep reading…), try Provisions Deli & Bottle Shop in Old Towne Orange, CA. It’s a bit pricey at $16 but…hey…it’s LOBSTER.
  • If you’re in the mood for an amazing dessert after gnoshing on a lobster roll or chicken & waffle (or both if you’re trying to beat Sonya Thomas), pop into The Aussie Bean – get your coffee while you’re there – and plant your lips around a scrumptious ice-cream cookie sandwich from Chunk-N-Chip.
  • If you’re going to the OC Fair, take Kym’s advice and get your Ten Pound Buns while you’re there because according to their Facebook page, they’re only available “at the fair.”
  • And if you’re a fan of the T.V. show The OC, please check out a great podcast called “Let’s Talk OC” where three friends – obsessed fan Michelle, Liss who has seen the show once, and Ingrid the newbie – get together to discuss each episode of The OC. If you loved that show and miss it, this is the podcast for you! Follow along as you stream on Hulu.

CORRECTION We erroneously cited the devastating news that multiple children died from Salmonella after visiting a petting zoo or other animal area at the San Diego County Fair in June. Sadly, one 2 year-old child did die after being infected with the E.coli bacteria after visiting the petting zoo. Four other children were infected after visiting the same animal areas, but thankfully are recovering. All five children visited animal areas between June 10 and June 22. Our sympathies and condolences go out to the family of the child who passed. Please read this full article which lists symptoms of E.coli and ways to prevent becoming infected.

Check out “Who’s the Fairest Food of All?” episode on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured Photo by Amanda Cottrell on Pexels.com
Episodes

Episode 07: Social Picks

themuglytruth

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Kym and Kris check out an archaic form of news-sharing. Photo by Kimberly Sickel @riverdeer at 500px
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday! Can you believe August is almost over?

It’s like it was Jaaaaaaaannnnnnuuuuuaaaaaarrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy, February, March, APRILMAYJUNEJULY, August….

Seriously. Whoosh.

Oh and newsflash: There are only 4 months left in 2018.

You’re welcome.

Today’s podcast covers a lot of the social media we listen to or watch in order to get through the daily grind, unwind at the end of the day, laugh with our family, ooh, ahh, and sigh over, or have our minds blown away by. We highlight some of our favorite pages on Instagram, channels on YouTube, and podcasts. We’re all over the spectrum with high-profile celebrities, organizational geniuses, beauty gurus, naughty humor, housewives, real life detectives, ex-FBI agents, true crime, eerie history, and sweet animals…it’s all there ready for YOU to discover something or someone new! We hope you find something (besides us…awwww…shucks) to brighten your day.

Thanks for joining us again! Go to iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn or any podcast player you prefer to subscribe, download and listen! If you enjoy what you hear, go ahead and leave a review! The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that WordPress follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com
Location photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px

 

Episodes

Episode 01: Ctrl+Alt+WTF?

themuglytruth

 

Photo by Kimberly Sickel @riverdeer 500px
Our production assistant Bob (big orange binder)
Our production Queen Rocky. Whose tail can be heard thumping throughout episodes 00 and 01. Yay Rocky!

Welcome to Episode 01 of The Mugly Truth Podcast! This week we fuel up on coffee and technology. From the 70’s to present day, we reminisce about troubleshooting rogue cassettes, the right way to return a mixtape, disco, OG texting (aka passing notes), rabbit ear antennas, recording movies in the seventies, changing channels the old fashioned way, landlines and the real MTV. Jumping back to the future we cover all things social media (YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat (STREAKS!), moms using cellphones, teenagers, Netflix, viral videos (Chewbacca Lady! I Don’t Watch The News Because I’m A Kid Kid!), tech spies conspiracy theories, self-driving cars (NOPE), Uber Air (NOPE NOPE), the kind of people who jump in elevators, podcasting, and even the Chunnel makes a guest appearance (one ginormous NOPE from Kym, two non-sarcastic thumbs up from Kris) . It’s literally gonna make you go HmmmmCtrl+Alt+WTF?

Special thanks to Paul Wilborn who helped us test our equipment, and even had us on HIS podcast (see Episode 21 The Mugly Truth on his podcast page at http://www.havingbeerswith.com/ ). If you like beer, hockey, baseball, or The American Wake, check out Paul’s podcast Having Beers With!

So grab your coffee and get comfy in your chair. Put on your headphones; kick the kids out of the room; turn down the volume on your work computer or turn it up in your car – because the swear jar goes into overdrive (we made over $2 in our swear-funding for equipment upgrades).

Let’s talk The Mugly Truth about TECHNOLOGY!

Click the link below to open the Libsyn player (it’s ok…it’s safe!):
//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/6769748/height/360/width/640/theme/legacy/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/backward/

Or you can hop over to our Libsyn podcast page at http://themuglytruth.libsyn.com/ or listen to this episode directly at http://themuglytruth.libsyn.com/ctrlaltwtf

© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com