December 15, 2022 • 34 mins
Hey y'all we got a weekly roundup for ya today and we are joined by Marietta Mendler so you know it's gonna be a delight! We talk about a holiday Christmas party where a Grinch fought a reindeer, the word 'goblin modde', the benefits of improv, and so much more!
Follow Marietta on IG: @marieonetta
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ridiculous News as a production of I Heart Radio and
Cool Cool Cool Audio. Yeah yeah, Yeah, we're amazing and
crazy comics to dig in the jews. You would nap
tune meant to ridiculous News. We get us. Their views
are working the rules of broadcasts then and all sorts
of while the courts to keep us a grand up
(00:20):
beat journalism, the strange and the usual stories, and well
we gave them when it's all about ridiculous news. Everywhere
we told about ridiculous news over here. Hey, everyone, welcome
to Ridiculous News, not your average news show. We cover
stuff you didn't realize was news, from the wild and funny,
to the deep and hidden to the absolutely ridiculous. I'm
Mark Kendall. I'm Atlanta based comedian, and it's my joy
to welcome you to our weekly round up episode where
(00:41):
we take some of the weirdest stories in the news
and dive a little deeper into them. As always, we
might have a few guests or characters that pop in
along the way. Bill's away today, but I am joined
by my incredible guest co host, Maryetta Mendler. Marietta is
a brilliant comic and actors. She performs all over Atlanta
and beyond. You can follow her on I g at
Mayor Arionetta. Welcome, Mariette. Is so great to have you here.
(01:02):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited absolutely, Uh, Marietta.
As we do with all of our guests, We're gonna
start things off with a segment called giving them their flowers.
This is a moment where I give you a compliment.
The only rule is you can't return the compliment. You
just gotta take the flowers. So, Marietta, something that I
just really enjoy about you so much, uh is your
stage present. Specifically, uh, the way you perform stand up comedy.
(01:23):
I think it's so hilarious. In fact, you were you
were indulging me before telling me some of your newest bits,
and it's really great And something that I really enjoy
about you that not everyone can do as a stand
up is like the way that you use improvisation in
such a great way. So you know, you might even
have a place that you want to go, but you
are open to improvising and having the set go whatever
(01:45):
direction it ends up going. And I am so impressed
by that every time I see it. And we actually
talk about improv a little later in the episode, so
I'll love to get your thoughts on that soon. So anyway,
thank you for being you. Thank you so much, absolutely so, Mariette.
We'll kick things off with some ridiculous news nibbles. So
these are a couple of quick ridiculous stories that happened recently.
(02:06):
So first, this is a holiday themed headline and this
is from Frank Whitzel for the Detroit Free Press and
the headline reads man dressed as Grinch accused of punching
guy in reindeer costume. It up North party. So this
article is really something so to men both in their thirties,
(02:26):
attended a work related holiday party in costumes recently at
Hotel Indigo in Traverse City, Michigan. Things got heated where
there was an argument. This is I guess a little
bit before midnight that has happened. Uh, it turned violent,
police said when the Grinch took a swing at the reindeer.
So Traverse City Police Department Captain Keith Gillis said that
(02:48):
the fight certainly was not in the spirit of Christmas. Yeah,
I believe that the police who were called to the
hotel to break up the brawl arrested the man dressed
as the Grinch, the grumpy, green, pot bellied character and
the How the Grinch Stole Christmas written by Dr Seuss
that has also appeared in many films. Also the well
known song uh so yeah, so that's what the article says.
(03:11):
Pretty pretty wild, don't you think that? Is? Well? I
wonder if he knew that, if it was just like
a reflection of his mood when he put on the outfit,
like what do you put on a Santa outfit? If
he was doing better, Um, that's a great that's a
great point. Like when you put on that Grinch suit,
are people like, all, snap, it's the Grinch here to
(03:33):
be a Grinch? Does that like you want kind of
like dressing for the job you want, not the job
you have kind of thing. Yes, yes, I wonder if
like before he put on the outfit, he was doing
fine and then everyone told him he was awful, and
then he was like, you know what's awful? This fist? Oh?
(03:53):
You know, it would be an interesting experiment just hearing
you say this is like next year, same party, same situation,
same two guys, but you have them switch costumes and see,
do you get a different result. I really like that.
And I wonder what would happen if he was wearing
a Grinch costume outside of the Christmas holiday? You know,
maybe it's extra powerful at a holiday party, right, Like,
(04:16):
So for example, if he got let's say the fight
didn't happen, but he was in costume, his grinch essence
was brought out. Right he leaves the party, does he
start stealing Christmas trees that are out on display on
the street, You know what I mean? That's a good question.
So many questions for this man. What's his phone number? Well,
(04:40):
w BPN TV in Traverse City and local Michigan media
company m Live also gave an account of the incident,
and m Live ended his report noting, and this is
a quote from the report that I thought was kind
of funny. Police believe the incident was fueled by alcohol
consumption and not the size of either man's heart, which
I thought was pretty good reference to the Grinch story. Yeah, well, Marian.
(05:05):
The next headline I know you're excited about this is
from CNN by Christian Edwards, and the headline reads, goblin
mode has been chosen as Oxford Word of the Year
for The article goes on to say that. According to
Oxford University Press, publishers behind the Oxford English Dictionary, Uh,
the slang term goblin mode which was chosen by the
(05:27):
public as the Oxford word of the Year, and it
refers to a type of behavior which is quote unapologetically
self indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way
that rejects social norms or expectations, traits that may have
become familiar to many during the lockdown. That's from the
(05:47):
article So pretty cool this word one word of the year. Yeah.
I wild that it wasn't in there before. Um, so
exciting that the Oxford University Press is catching up to society.
And I didn't know that we could vote on the
words that had power. So yeah, So it's interesting that
(06:08):
you mentioned that. So Casper grath Wall, who's the president
of o u p S Oxford Languages, said in a
press release that the quote level of engagement with the
campaign caught us totally by surprise. Uh. They went on
to say, given the year we've just experienced, goblin mode
resonates with all of us who are feeling a little
overwhelmed at this point. It's a relief to acknowledge that
(06:31):
we're not always idealized, curatedselves that were encouraged to present
on our Instagram and TikTok feeds. He said, people are
embracing their inner goblin, and voters choosing goblin mode as
the word of the Year tells us the concept is
likely here to stay. And I think it also seems
to be the first year that this UH Award or
(06:52):
this Word of the Year contest was chosen by the
public for the first time, so I guess maybe previously
it was maybe an invite only situation. I don't know
what they used to do, but that is just so
heartwarming that we get to be in goblin mode and
it gets to be approved by Oxford, so fancy, so regal,
(07:13):
the regalist goblins. I love it. I love it. I
love saying that you're in goblin mode, even if you're
just in pajamas. You know. I feel like my bar
for what I qualify as me being a goblin is
very low. Yeah. I could be a goblin now and
I'm wearing buttons on my shirt. That's not it's kind
(07:36):
of fancy for a goblin. I like the idea of
a fancy goblin. That's just a funny concept to me,
you know what I mean, Like, yeah, I love it. Uh.
So this next headline is from Atlanta Black Star by
Rachel George, and the headline I thought was pretty interesting. So, uh,
(07:56):
the headline is this, I'm looking for people that smell
like weed. Pastor Jamal Bryant wants to grow and sell
cannabis at New Birth Church in Atlanta to bring in
more males. Uh. So this was over an interview. So
this was during a sit down on the Cool Sore
Or podcast with Roshan Alle and so Jamal Bryant, who's
(08:16):
the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist church in Atlanta,
said I'm looking for people that smell like me. The
article goes on to say that Ali was a bit
taken it back. Uh you know, because it's like that's
not something you hear people say, pastor or not very often,
you know what I mean. Um. Anyway, but he want
on to explain that he wants to create a program
(08:37):
or system in the church that allows blackmails to work
legally in this business. Um. So they went on to
say that, so my position to my deacons is why
are we not raising cannabis? He asked, I'll be able
to bring in blackmails that are able to do it legally.
I'm teaching them farming. I'm helping them to enhance the ecosystem.
This is the kind of conversation. So that was their
(08:59):
quote there. Um, I thought, I mean, like it is
kind of like surprising to hear someone's like a pastor
say like, I'm looking for people to smell like we however,
like the legal raising of cannabis so that people can benefit,
especially those that otherwise were you know, uh, unnecessarily or
overpunished or whatever. For that Black people in particular, I
(09:24):
think it'd be great if there was a way for
them to find employment that way. Absolutely, and then that
makes going to church that much more fun. Yeah, I
feel like it will help. It helps both sides. Yeah, absolutely,
(09:45):
I agree. I agree. So a promo video for this
interview was posted on Instagram, and our incredible researcher Casey
found this. So the comments section had all kinds of
stuff as you can imagine, right, Um, And so there
was something that may be agreed with it. Some maybe
that we're you know, had mixed feelings about bringing this
(10:09):
type of business into the church space. But anyway, Casey
pulled a comment from the comments section that read, so
you're gonna play with the most high by getting the
most high, and I thought, it's uh some. It's a
great line right there. Pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna
take a squick break to hear a word from our sponsor.
(10:33):
Yeah yeah, would amazing and crazy comics too ridiculous news.
All right, ch'alls. So we're back with our weekly roundup.
We're gonna hop into our main story for the day.
I'm joined by my guest co host, Marietta. It's so
great to have you here, especially for this article we're
gonna talk about next. So I talked earlier about how
(10:54):
you're such a great improviser, not just like in an
improv setting, but on stand up stages as well. And
so this article came from MPR and it's by Allowa
Gemi La Doucey as well as Audrey Win And the
headline is had to apply the rules of improv to
everyday life and so it is from their life kit section,
(11:14):
and the article starts off by saying, it turns out
there are several mental health benefits performing improv and so,
according to a study that was published in the journal
Thinking Skills and Creativity. Researchers found that doing just twenty
minutes of improv a day can increase creativity, decrease social anxiety,
and increase our ability to tolerate uncertainty, which is pretty cool.
(11:37):
Not surprising, but cool to see that this research is
being done. Yeah, we should have all been doing so
much more incroft apparently. Um. Yeah. So the article kind
of breaks down five rules from improv. So, Marianna, if
you're cool with it, I was just gonna share one
(11:57):
with you and then just kind of get your thoughts
on it. If that's cool, I love it. Yeah, great, awesome.
So rule number one that they lay out, and this
is the one that you kind of see the most
if you've ever taken an improv class or read an
improv book, and it is the rule of yes and
uh and so yes. And I suppose it has a
couple of different definitions, but generally how I've heard it
(12:20):
explained is if you're improvising with someone or even by yourself,
if an idea gets thrown out there, the idea is
that you acknowledge it or affirm it, and then you
add you yes, and you add something to that idea, Um,
what how do you kind of like interpret yes? And
in your life it could be on stage or off
(12:40):
what's what's yes? And I mean do you marry atte?
I really like how it's entered the public, Uh, guys,
and that you can just be like, oh, I'm just
gonna yes and this um and just mean that you're
going you're down for the adventure of whatever is happening,
whether it's um actually a true adventure and a friend
(13:01):
being like let's get on a boat, or if it's
a difficult customer at a coffee shop, uh, like has
lots of demands and then you're just like, okay, okay,
and how else could I help you? You know. So
it's just helps to be open minded no matter what
the context of the situation is, which I think is
(13:23):
super helpful. That's really great, that's really great. Uh. You
know something from the article that they shared that I
thought was good. I'll read here. Uh. It says in life,
we have a tendency to say no. Uh. It's easier
than trying to listen and understand what someone else is
asking of us. For example, we often say no to
new ideas because we are afraid of uncertainty, but the
(13:44):
idea of yes and gives us a moment to pause,
listen and create something new from what someone is offering.
And so that is from someone that was being quoted
in the article last name drink oh is there is
their name there? So uh. The next rule that they
break down is embrace mistakes. Embrace mistakes. So Marytt do
(14:08):
you do you embrace mistakes? Is that something that you
find you do on stage? Off stage? Yeah, I do
feel like I'm making them, uh quite often. And then
but also that you're like, it's okay, We're gonna pick
up our feet and and move on with the scene
or move on with the moment. I feel like I
(14:29):
often make the mistake of being late somewhere because I
booked myself to be five different places at the same time. Um.
But then isn't that just a fun new adventure to
figure out how you're going to get five places in
one time um or um? When if you it helps
you able to be like, Okay, well I can understand
(14:51):
why I made this mistake, and um, give yourself a
little bit of grace, which I think is important. Yeah, yeah,
you know, I'll teach improv on occasion and a game
I really love to do with folks that are strangers
or it actually doesn't matter if they're strangers or not,
but just the way that I enjoy whenever I'm starting
to work with folks in the improv space is there's
(15:14):
an exercise like I like to do where basically what
ends up happening is one at a time, each person
shares the time that they made a mistake in their life.
And it doesn't have to be it could be a
small mistake, it could be a big mistake, whatever, And
after they share this mistake, everyone gives them a round
of applause. And what I like about it is that,
you know, you get embraced for being vulnerable, you know.
(15:37):
And then most often what happens is that when people
share a time that they messed up or something that
they're embarrassed by, everybody else has like at least a
moment in their life when they did the same thing.
And I think it's helpful because you know, understandably in life,
like you make a mistake, it does cause embarrassment and
you might want to hide it. But depending on what
(15:58):
the mistake is, it's not as helpful if you hide it.
If you get it out in the open. It makes
it a little easier to deal with, you know. And
I do understand there's complications, but generally speaking, you know,
if we could be open with our mistakes with one another,
it can make it easier to fix them, you know. Absolutely. Yeah.
(16:18):
So this next improv rule that they share in the
article is don't shy away from yourself. Um, and Mary,
I'm really interested to see if you have any thoughts
on this one, mostly because I feel like, you know,
of the comics that I see perform, you are so
like completely yourself at all times. And I mean that
(16:39):
in the best way possible. It's just like it's like
I see you and it's just like, well, that's someone
that knows who they are on stage and they're able
to be that at all times, you know, and it's
really cool to see. I'm just curious though, for yourself
when you hear the phrase don't shy away from yourself?
What's that? What's that mean to you? Thank you so
much and we're the needs to watch this, okay. Um.
(17:01):
I think that it is so funny that sometimes when
you're doing improv or a comedy on stage, if sometimes
if I'm trying to be someone that's really removed from myself.
Nobody believes me. Uh, They're like, what are you talking about? Um?
And then and then it's just like, oh, you know,
they believe me when I'm being authentic and honest, and
(17:21):
that's something to to stick by. UM. And I think that, yeah,
I was never someone who like went away from school
for the summer and then I was able to come
back and be like, oh wow Mary at the two point. Oh,
I feel like that that version has not been released,
so but but alone and UM. And I'm so grateful
(17:49):
that improv give see the space to be yourself and
maybe it gives you like a little bit more uh
bravery to do that, because if you're like, if I
can do this in front of strangers, then I can
do it in front of uh coworkers and friends and stuff. Absolutely,
I agree. You know something that I feel like I've
learned from watching improv getting a chance to perform it
(18:10):
sometimes is sometimes you might play a character, but other
times you kind of just have to think about, like
what would I do in this moment? You know, Well,
it doesn't have to be comedic. A lot of times
it can be, and sometimes the most straightforward way to
being you know, your best comedic self is just like
responding in the moment as you actually would, and so
(18:32):
you learn that you get. I mean there's a common phrase.
There's a book with the same title, the Idea of
Truth and Comedy. I feel like you could also say
like honesty and comedy, and so there's an honesty and
being yourself. And I've never necessarily and I don't think
that has to mean like you know, you're sharing your
diary with the audience. I mean, you could do that,
but I think it just makes it just means like
(18:54):
coming from a true place, you know, And I think
people pick up on that on stage, like you said
a referenced earlier, or just like in everyday life, you know. Yeah,
anything to be coming from that true place when you're
a character too, um, and that's really fun. I feel like, yeah,
your your characters are the best. And I think Professor
Improv also comes from very true place. I'm sure that's true.
(19:18):
Professor Improv is a is an improviser in Atlanta. Very
very old. I don't know how old he is, but
he goes around teaching improv. Very interesting guy. I haven't
seen him in a little bit, but he's out there somewhere. Um. So,
the last rule that this article shared was rule number five,
make room for play. So the article goes on to
say that, uh, improv is play. We make up games,
(19:41):
laugh at absurd scenarios, pretend we are different characters, heightened
funny patterns, and let loose. Improv can create the structure
to be silly without real harmful consequences. Uh, it's a
very healing thing to do. Uh so what what what
are your what are your thoughts on that? Like bringing
play either to for to performance. I think it's so
(20:03):
important makes it so much more enjoyable to look at,
like the fun moments that you can create or treasure. Um,
a hundred and ten percent. And isn't that the best
part of sometimes hanging out with friends is doing bits
and playing games together in a casual and then you
just like, uh, we're okay with sharing this part in
(20:27):
front of an audience. Um and so, and I do
think that like everyone can do it because everyone makes
people laugh at different parties or gatherings in some way,
shape or form. So, um, yeah, but it's cool to
think intentionally about it. I agree. I think that's a
great point, Marietta. I think to like as far as
(20:50):
like a sense of play goes, you know. Um, I
associate that with like. I think it's like a healthy
way in to like Santi with some sort of like
childlike version of yourself. And I don't mean like childlike
in terms of immature. I just mean like child life
in terms of like youthful, you know what I mean?
(21:10):
Um and uh. I think improv is one of those
things where I think it's tough to do improv well
and not have a good time. So in a weird way,
improv teaches you how to have fun, you know, like
or can help remind you how to make a situation
(21:31):
fun and that doesn't have to be bad, you know.
And I think that there are moments where in life,
if you want to, you can choose to make it fun.
You can choose to bring joy to some something and
not like in a silly, irresponsible way, but I think
like in a defiant way. You know, you can be
like I'm going to choose to make this thing joyful.
I'm gonna choose I'm gonna choose to enjoy this moment. Yeah,
(21:54):
absolutely absolutely, And that like once you kind of are saying,
let's have fun. In this you give permission to people
around you to also have a fun time. Yeah. We
will be right back with more ridiculous news after this
short break. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, don't confused ridiculous news.
(22:21):
All right, y'all, we're back. We've got a few more
stories for you. This next headline reads Fortnite manufacturer sued
by Canadian parents over games alleged addictive properties. So this
article is out at deadline dot com. Uh, and I
caught my eye up because you know, I played a
(22:42):
lot of video games growing up, at least I think
I played. I don't know what a lot is, but
I remember playing video games a lot, uh, growing up.
And you know, I'm sure my parents wish maybe I
didn't play as much of them sometimes I don't know.
But anyway, in this, in this particular story, uh, a
group of Canadian parents are suing US based Epic Games
(23:05):
over its massive Fortnite franchise, claiming it makes children into
gaming addicts who stopped eating, sleeping, and showering. Um, so
it was an interesting headline to me. So BBC News
reports the Canadian Supreme Court judge has now authorized the
lawsuit that was filed against Fortnite's Epic Games by Quebec parents.
(23:28):
They claim their gamers are quote severely dependent on the
first person shooter game, which is a worldwide audience of
more than eighty million players. So recently, the Canadian judge
ruled the lawsuit was not quote frivolous or manifestly ill founded.
(23:48):
The court concludes that there is a serious issue to
be argued, supported by sufficient and specific allegations as to
the existence of risks or even dangers arising from use
a Fortnite. So the law firm that brought the action
said Epic Games was akin to a tobacco manufacturer and
(24:08):
claimed the legal responsibility was quote basically the same. I've
not heard videos games discussed in this way before, have you. No, no, no,
And um, it sounds like they're like, it's really truly
not our fault that we want to be on video games.
It's it's all on you. And that's interesting, it is
it is interesting. Yeah, So I guess according to this article,
(24:33):
the the lawsuit can move forward. Um. And that was
the Canadian judge said that the lawsuit can move forward. Uh.
And the Canadian judge said that he didn't believe the
parents claims the Epic Games intentionally made Fortnite addictive, which
I think is also an interesting distinction. Um. However, the
(24:53):
article goes on to say the court didn't agree with
the parents claimed the Epic Games deliberately made Fortnite addict.
I uh, he added quote, this does not exclude the
possibility that the game isn't fact addictive, and that its
designer and distributor are presumed to know it. So I
guess this will be an ongoing dialogue. You know. Yeah,
(25:15):
I wonder how they can make it more boring so
that kids would want to put it down. Um, Like
do they have a challenge where it's like you have
to play solitaire for six hours? Or Um? What else
would be? Maybe just run through a field for a while,
you know, something more relaxing, Like maybe there can be
(25:37):
like a bedtime story segment. Um. I wonder what else
they could do. We also get to hear from Epic
Games in this article as well. So Epic Games denied
the validity of the suit in a statement obtained by BBC.
UH there's a quote that says parents can receive playtime
reports that track the amount of time their child plays
each week and require parental permission before purchases are made.
(26:00):
The company said, we plan to fight this in court.
We believe the evidence will show that this case is meritless.
So that was there position on it. I don't know.
When I was reading through bits of this article, my
response was like, I don't know, like how addictive video
games are or not, because they're just so many types
of video games. But my brain kind of went to
(26:23):
something like, you know, TikTok, Like TikTok's addictive for me,
where it's just like they know how to show me
exactly what I want and I keeps growing, keeps growing.
That's addictive, and so you know, it makes sense that
like a video game could potentially have like similar properties.
And I don't know what Fortnite I don't play, do
you play? No? I wish I did, or I wish
(26:47):
I knew more about them. I think I went to
a Mario party and I came in last I kept
going backwards. I it's but TikTok I am definitely addicted to.
And the person who invented the never ending scroll, um
he takes a lot of ownership for um it being
(27:09):
a bad idea because I know that that used to
help me stop scrolling Facebook and stuff. I'd be like,
I'm just gonna get to the end of the page
and then I'll log off. But now there's no end,
right right, right right, Yeah, it's yeah that never winning
scrolls really interesting, and and the reason it made me
think of TikTok was just like, Okay, well here's something
(27:30):
that I've experienced, and I'm like, this definitely has addictive
properties in it, you know, and I can put it
down now, or I can delete the app now. But
I was kind of thinking about, like not too long
in the future, where it's like they get so good
a video game or an app or whatever and they
make it so like you can't put it down, you know,
Like that kind of that kind of had me curious.
(27:53):
You know, yeah, yeah, I'm sure we're not too far
away from that. It's so, yeah, well, I'll be interested
to see how this lawsuit plays out. I guess you know,
it'll be it'll be interesting to see, yes, because some
people when they get to um, it's like a whole
different type of literacy, and then you get rewarded for
(28:15):
knowing so much about the world. UM, So that can
be really cool, but then also which you should shower?
I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true, that's true.
We have one more headline for today. This one's from
axios dot com by Ned Oliver, and uh, it's a
(28:38):
story out of Richmond. The headline is Richmond removes its
last Confederate monument and this is the last city owned one.
So the article from Axios goes on to say workers
in Richmond, Virginia, removed the last city owned Confederate statue
from its pedestal and this was very recently. Uh. The
moment marks the close of a two year effort to
remove memorials to the Confederacy and its formal capital. City
(29:02):
and state leaders had long resistant calls to take down
Confederate iconography, but more recently more of these have come down,
especially um in the summer, amid widespread protests against police misconduct. Uh,
there were a lot more Confederate monuments being taken down
(29:23):
in the city. And uh yeah, so it's so it's
interesting to see this one finally come down. And and
I guess what struck me about this article was just like,
even once people decide like, hey, this thing needs to go,
it can still be a year's long process to get
these monuments removed. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, um so much when
(29:46):
you would think they could just press the button and
it could go away. Absolutely Yeah, that's what that's what
you that's what you would think. Um. And now I
guess it's just kind of a question of I guess
where the statue will go. So workers at the time
of this article, we're still dismantling the pedestal. And this
(30:09):
is a Confederate statue of a Confederate general A. P. Hill,
And so his body is also a part. It's like,
I guess his body is also inside the statue somewhere.
So it's somewhere. I guess, perhaps at the base. I
I don't know, so there Yeah. So there was a
(30:33):
funeral home was on hand to transfer his body for
reburial at a cemetery in Culpepper. Uh. And apparently it's
the third time his remains have been, you know, reinterred. Uh.
But there's been a legal challenge filed by some of
Hill's relatives. Uh that's still working its way through the courts,
and they have opinions about where it should go. So
(30:54):
a judge rejected initial efforts to stop the removal altogether.
The family bers are now pushing to relocate the statue
of Hill to the same cemetery as his remains. So
so we'll see. Uh. The family members say they opposed
the city's plan to donate the statue to the Black
History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, which took ownership
(31:16):
of all the prior monuments that have been moved. Uh.
And so John Hill, who is a relative of A. P. Hill, said,
it's his headstone. Um, it would be like anybody else's
headstone with their family name on it. You don't want
to see that come down. I would say, it's not
like anybody else's family headstone, you know, like this is
(31:39):
a Confederate monument that clearly stands for a certain purpose,
you know, and is meant to communicate a certain message.
So you know, I just don't think it's like this
isn't your standard grandfather's head stone. No. No, he can
get the little oval too, we can. We can get
a little oval and it could be fine. You put
a little picture on it if you really want to.
(32:00):
You John Well, y'all glad to see Richmond experiencing that
form of progress. Hopefully it continues there and elsewhere, you know,
as we try to rethink how we remember certain aspects
of history. And uh, now it seems like as good
a time as any to move on to our spring
of inspiring inspirations. So this is where we pull an
inspiring quote to send you off on a positive note.
(32:22):
And this quote we're talking about improv comedy a little earlier. Uh,
this quote from Lucille Ball, and it is I'd rather
regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't.
And I felt that was similar to what we talked
about earlier about embracing mistakes. And uh, if Lucille Ball
says that that's a good thing to do, especially when
it comes to comedy, I'm like, yeah, I'll listen to
(32:43):
Lucille on that one. Yeah. Well, Mary atta, As always,
it's been such a pleasure to have you on the podcast.
You always bring me such joy whenever I get to
see you, and recording with you as always such a treat.
So how can listeners stay in touch with you? Follow you,
support you anything you want to say? You too? Thank
(33:05):
you so much. This is my favorite podcast. My Instagram
is just Marionetta, which is n R I E O
N E t t A. Thank you so so much again,
absolutely absolutely uh and thank you listeners. We realize you
have a lot of options what to listen to, so
the fact that you would tune in just means so
(33:25):
much and we genuinely say thank you. You can stay
in touch by emailing us at Ridiculous News at I
heart media dot com and on Facebook and I G
be sure to follow Ridiculous News, and you check out
our comedy videos at Mark Kendall Comedy by All. Ridiculous
(33:53):
News is hosted by Mark Kendall and Bill Warley. Executive
producers are Ben Bolland and Noel Brown, produced and edited
by Tari Harris In research provided by Casey Willis and
theme music by four Eyes and Doctor Delight. Four more
podcasts from my Heart Radio visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Ridiculous News as a production of I Heart Radio and
Cool Cool Cool Audio. Yeah yeah, Yeah, we're amazing and
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tune meant to ridiculous News. We get us. Their views
are working the rules of broadcasts then and all sorts
of while the courts to keep us a grand up
(00:20):
beat journalism, the strange and the usual stories, and well
we gave them when it's all about ridiculous news. Everywhere
we told about ridiculous news over here. Hey, everyone, welcome
to Ridiculous News, not your average news show. We cover
stuff you didn't realize was news, from the wild and funny,
to the deep and hidden to the absolutely ridiculous. I'm
Mark Kendall. I'm Atlanta based comedian, and it's my joy
to welcome you to our weekly round up episode where
(00:41):
we take some of the weirdest stories in the news
and dive a little deeper into them. As always, we
might have a few guests or characters that pop in
along the way. Bill's away today, but I am joined
by my incredible guest co host, Maryetta Mendler. Marietta is
a brilliant comic and actors. She performs all over Atlanta
and beyond. You can follow her on I g at
Mayor Arionetta. Welcome, Mariette. Is so great to have you here.
(01:02):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited absolutely, Uh, Marietta.
As we do with all of our guests, We're gonna
start things off with a segment called giving them their flowers.
This is a moment where I give you a compliment.
The only rule is you can't return the compliment. You
just gotta take the flowers. So, Marietta, something that I
just really enjoy about you so much, uh is your
stage present. Specifically, uh, the way you perform stand up comedy.
(01:23):
I think it's so hilarious. In fact, you were you
were indulging me before telling me some of your newest bits,
and it's really great And something that I really enjoy
about you that not everyone can do as a stand
up is like the way that you use improvisation in
such a great way. So you know, you might even
have a place that you want to go, but you
are open to improvising and having the set go whatever
(01:45):
direction it ends up going. And I am so impressed
by that every time I see it. And we actually
talk about improv a little later in the episode, so
I'll love to get your thoughts on that soon. So anyway,
thank you for being you. Thank you so much, absolutely so, Mariette.
We'll kick things off with some ridiculous news nibbles. So
these are a couple of quick ridiculous stories that happened recently.
(02:06):
So first, this is a holiday themed headline and this
is from Frank Whitzel for the Detroit Free Press and
the headline reads man dressed as Grinch accused of punching
guy in reindeer costume. It up North party. So this
article is really something so to men both in their thirties,
(02:26):
attended a work related holiday party in costumes recently at
Hotel Indigo in Traverse City, Michigan. Things got heated where
there was an argument. This is I guess a little
bit before midnight that has happened. Uh, it turned violent,
police said when the Grinch took a swing at the reindeer.
So Traverse City Police Department Captain Keith Gillis said that
(02:48):
the fight certainly was not in the spirit of Christmas. Yeah,
I believe that the police who were called to the
hotel to break up the brawl arrested the man dressed
as the Grinch, the grumpy, green, pot bellied character and
the How the Grinch Stole Christmas written by Dr Seuss
that has also appeared in many films. Also the well
known song uh so yeah, so that's what the article says.
(03:11):
Pretty pretty wild, don't you think that? Is? Well? I
wonder if he knew that, if it was just like
a reflection of his mood when he put on the outfit,
like what do you put on a Santa outfit? If
he was doing better, Um, that's a great that's a
great point. Like when you put on that Grinch suit,
are people like, all, snap, it's the Grinch here to
(03:33):
be a Grinch? Does that like you want kind of
like dressing for the job you want, not the job
you have kind of thing. Yes, yes, I wonder if
like before he put on the outfit, he was doing
fine and then everyone told him he was awful, and
then he was like, you know what's awful? This fist? Oh?
(03:53):
You know, it would be an interesting experiment just hearing
you say this is like next year, same party, same situation,
same two guys, but you have them switch costumes and see,
do you get a different result. I really like that.
And I wonder what would happen if he was wearing
a Grinch costume outside of the Christmas holiday? You know,
maybe it's extra powerful at a holiday party, right, Like,
(04:16):
So for example, if he got let's say the fight
didn't happen, but he was in costume, his grinch essence
was brought out. Right he leaves the party, does he
start stealing Christmas trees that are out on display on
the street, You know what I mean? That's a good question.
So many questions for this man. What's his phone number? Well,
(04:40):
w BPN TV in Traverse City and local Michigan media
company m Live also gave an account of the incident,
and m Live ended his report noting, and this is
a quote from the report that I thought was kind
of funny. Police believe the incident was fueled by alcohol
consumption and not the size of either man's heart, which
I thought was pretty good reference to the Grinch story. Yeah, well, Marian.
(05:05):
The next headline I know you're excited about this is
from CNN by Christian Edwards, and the headline reads, goblin
mode has been chosen as Oxford Word of the Year
for The article goes on to say that. According to
Oxford University Press, publishers behind the Oxford English Dictionary, Uh,
the slang term goblin mode which was chosen by the
(05:27):
public as the Oxford word of the Year, and it
refers to a type of behavior which is quote unapologetically
self indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way
that rejects social norms or expectations, traits that may have
become familiar to many during the lockdown. That's from the
(05:47):
article So pretty cool this word one word of the year. Yeah.
I wild that it wasn't in there before. Um, so
exciting that the Oxford University Press is catching up to society.
And I didn't know that we could vote on the
words that had power. So yeah, So it's interesting that
(06:08):
you mentioned that. So Casper grath Wall, who's the president
of o u p S Oxford Languages, said in a
press release that the quote level of engagement with the
campaign caught us totally by surprise. Uh. They went on
to say, given the year we've just experienced, goblin mode
resonates with all of us who are feeling a little
overwhelmed at this point. It's a relief to acknowledge that
(06:31):
we're not always idealized, curatedselves that were encouraged to present
on our Instagram and TikTok feeds. He said, people are
embracing their inner goblin, and voters choosing goblin mode as
the word of the Year tells us the concept is
likely here to stay. And I think it also seems
to be the first year that this UH Award or
(06:52):
this Word of the Year contest was chosen by the
public for the first time, so I guess maybe previously
it was maybe an invite only situation. I don't know
what they used to do, but that is just so
heartwarming that we get to be in goblin mode and
it gets to be approved by Oxford, so fancy, so regal,
(07:13):
the regalist goblins. I love it. I love it. I
love saying that you're in goblin mode, even if you're
just in pajamas. You know. I feel like my bar
for what I qualify as me being a goblin is
very low. Yeah. I could be a goblin now and
I'm wearing buttons on my shirt. That's not it's kind
(07:36):
of fancy for a goblin. I like the idea of
a fancy goblin. That's just a funny concept to me,
you know what I mean, Like, yeah, I love it. Uh.
So this next headline is from Atlanta Black Star by
Rachel George, and the headline I thought was pretty interesting. So, uh,
(07:56):
the headline is this, I'm looking for people that smell
like weed. Pastor Jamal Bryant wants to grow and sell
cannabis at New Birth Church in Atlanta to bring in
more males. Uh. So this was over an interview. So
this was during a sit down on the Cool Sore
Or podcast with Roshan Alle and so Jamal Bryant, who's
(08:16):
the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist church in Atlanta,
said I'm looking for people that smell like me. The
article goes on to say that Ali was a bit
taken it back. Uh you know, because it's like that's
not something you hear people say, pastor or not very often,
you know what I mean. Um. Anyway, but he want
on to explain that he wants to create a program
(08:37):
or system in the church that allows blackmails to work
legally in this business. Um. So they went on to
say that, so my position to my deacons is why
are we not raising cannabis? He asked, I'll be able
to bring in blackmails that are able to do it legally.
I'm teaching them farming. I'm helping them to enhance the ecosystem.
This is the kind of conversation. So that was their
(08:59):
quote there. Um, I thought, I mean, like it is
kind of like surprising to hear someone's like a pastor
say like, I'm looking for people to smell like we however,
like the legal raising of cannabis so that people can benefit,
especially those that otherwise were you know, uh, unnecessarily or
overpunished or whatever. For that Black people in particular, I
(09:24):
think it'd be great if there was a way for
them to find employment that way. Absolutely, and then that
makes going to church that much more fun. Yeah, I
feel like it will help. It helps both sides. Yeah, absolutely,
(09:45):
I agree. I agree. So a promo video for this
interview was posted on Instagram, and our incredible researcher Casey
found this. So the comments section had all kinds of
stuff as you can imagine, right, Um, And so there
was something that may be agreed with it. Some maybe
that we're you know, had mixed feelings about bringing this
(10:09):
type of business into the church space. But anyway, Casey
pulled a comment from the comments section that read, so
you're gonna play with the most high by getting the
most high, and I thought, it's uh some. It's a
great line right there. Pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna
take a squick break to hear a word from our sponsor.
(10:33):
Yeah yeah, would amazing and crazy comics too ridiculous news.
All right, ch'alls. So we're back with our weekly roundup.
We're gonna hop into our main story for the day.
I'm joined by my guest co host, Marietta. It's so
great to have you here, especially for this article we're
gonna talk about next. So I talked earlier about how
(10:54):
you're such a great improviser, not just like in an
improv setting, but on stand up stages as well. And
so this article came from MPR and it's by Allowa
Gemi La Doucey as well as Audrey Win And the
headline is had to apply the rules of improv to
everyday life and so it is from their life kit section,
(11:14):
and the article starts off by saying, it turns out
there are several mental health benefits performing improv and so,
according to a study that was published in the journal
Thinking Skills and Creativity. Researchers found that doing just twenty
minutes of improv a day can increase creativity, decrease social anxiety,
and increase our ability to tolerate uncertainty, which is pretty cool.
(11:37):
Not surprising, but cool to see that this research is
being done. Yeah, we should have all been doing so
much more incroft apparently. Um. Yeah. So the article kind
of breaks down five rules from improv. So, Marianna, if
you're cool with it, I was just gonna share one
(11:57):
with you and then just kind of get your thoughts
on it. If that's cool, I love it. Yeah, great, awesome.
So rule number one that they lay out, and this
is the one that you kind of see the most
if you've ever taken an improv class or read an
improv book, and it is the rule of yes and
uh and so yes. And I suppose it has a
couple of different definitions, but generally how I've heard it
(12:20):
explained is if you're improvising with someone or even by yourself,
if an idea gets thrown out there, the idea is
that you acknowledge it or affirm it, and then you
add you yes, and you add something to that idea, Um,
what how do you kind of like interpret yes? And
in your life it could be on stage or off
(12:40):
what's what's yes? And I mean do you marry atte?
I really like how it's entered the public, Uh, guys,
and that you can just be like, oh, I'm just
gonna yes and this um and just mean that you're
going you're down for the adventure of whatever is happening,
whether it's um actually a true adventure and a friend
(13:01):
being like let's get on a boat, or if it's
a difficult customer at a coffee shop, uh, like has
lots of demands and then you're just like, okay, okay,
and how else could I help you? You know. So
it's just helps to be open minded no matter what
the context of the situation is, which I think is
(13:23):
super helpful. That's really great, that's really great. Uh. You
know something from the article that they shared that I
thought was good. I'll read here. Uh. It says in life,
we have a tendency to say no. Uh. It's easier
than trying to listen and understand what someone else is
asking of us. For example, we often say no to
new ideas because we are afraid of uncertainty, but the
(13:44):
idea of yes and gives us a moment to pause,
listen and create something new from what someone is offering.
And so that is from someone that was being quoted
in the article last name drink oh is there is
their name there? So uh. The next rule that they
break down is embrace mistakes. Embrace mistakes. So Marytt do
(14:08):
you do you embrace mistakes? Is that something that you
find you do on stage? Off stage? Yeah, I do
feel like I'm making them, uh quite often. And then
but also that you're like, it's okay, We're gonna pick
up our feet and and move on with the scene
or move on with the moment. I feel like I
(14:29):
often make the mistake of being late somewhere because I
booked myself to be five different places at the same time. Um.
But then isn't that just a fun new adventure to
figure out how you're going to get five places in
one time um or um? When if you it helps
you able to be like, Okay, well I can understand
(14:51):
why I made this mistake, and um, give yourself a
little bit of grace, which I think is important. Yeah, yeah,
you know, I'll teach improv on occasion and a game
I really love to do with folks that are strangers
or it actually doesn't matter if they're strangers or not,
but just the way that I enjoy whenever I'm starting
to work with folks in the improv space is there's
(15:14):
an exercise like I like to do where basically what
ends up happening is one at a time, each person
shares the time that they made a mistake in their life.
And it doesn't have to be it could be a
small mistake, it could be a big mistake, whatever, And
after they share this mistake, everyone gives them a round
of applause. And what I like about it is that,
you know, you get embraced for being vulnerable, you know.
(15:37):
And then most often what happens is that when people
share a time that they messed up or something that
they're embarrassed by, everybody else has like at least a
moment in their life when they did the same thing.
And I think it's helpful because you know, understandably in life,
like you make a mistake, it does cause embarrassment and
you might want to hide it. But depending on what
(15:58):
the mistake is, it's not as helpful if you hide it.
If you get it out in the open. It makes
it a little easier to deal with, you know. And
I do understand there's complications, but generally speaking, you know,
if we could be open with our mistakes with one another,
it can make it easier to fix them, you know. Absolutely. Yeah.
(16:18):
So this next improv rule that they share in the
article is don't shy away from yourself. Um, and Mary,
I'm really interested to see if you have any thoughts
on this one, mostly because I feel like, you know,
of the comics that I see perform, you are so
like completely yourself at all times. And I mean that
(16:39):
in the best way possible. It's just like it's like
I see you and it's just like, well, that's someone
that knows who they are on stage and they're able
to be that at all times, you know, and it's
really cool to see. I'm just curious though, for yourself
when you hear the phrase don't shy away from yourself?
What's that? What's that mean to you? Thank you so
much and we're the needs to watch this, okay. Um.
(17:01):
I think that it is so funny that sometimes when
you're doing improv or a comedy on stage, if sometimes
if I'm trying to be someone that's really removed from myself.
Nobody believes me. Uh, They're like, what are you talking about? Um?
And then and then it's just like, oh, you know,
they believe me when I'm being authentic and honest, and
(17:21):
that's something to to stick by. UM. And I think that, yeah,
I was never someone who like went away from school
for the summer and then I was able to come
back and be like, oh wow Mary at the two point. Oh,
I feel like that that version has not been released,
so but but alone and UM. And I'm so grateful
(17:49):
that improv give see the space to be yourself and
maybe it gives you like a little bit more uh
bravery to do that, because if you're like, if I
can do this in front of strangers, then I can
do it in front of uh coworkers and friends and stuff. Absolutely,
I agree. You know something that I feel like I've
learned from watching improv getting a chance to perform it
(18:10):
sometimes is sometimes you might play a character, but other
times you kind of just have to think about, like
what would I do in this moment? You know, Well,
it doesn't have to be comedic. A lot of times
it can be, and sometimes the most straightforward way to
being you know, your best comedic self is just like
responding in the moment as you actually would, and so
(18:32):
you learn that you get. I mean there's a common phrase.
There's a book with the same title, the Idea of
Truth and Comedy. I feel like you could also say
like honesty and comedy, and so there's an honesty and
being yourself. And I've never necessarily and I don't think
that has to mean like you know, you're sharing your
diary with the audience. I mean, you could do that,
but I think it just makes it just means like
(18:54):
coming from a true place, you know, And I think
people pick up on that on stage, like you said
a referenced earlier, or just like in everyday life, you know. Yeah,
anything to be coming from that true place when you're
a character too, um, and that's really fun. I feel like, yeah,
your your characters are the best. And I think Professor
Improv also comes from very true place. I'm sure that's true.
(19:18):
Professor Improv is a is an improviser in Atlanta. Very
very old. I don't know how old he is, but
he goes around teaching improv. Very interesting guy. I haven't
seen him in a little bit, but he's out there somewhere. Um. So,
the last rule that this article shared was rule number five,
make room for play. So the article goes on to
say that, uh, improv is play. We make up games,
(19:41):
laugh at absurd scenarios, pretend we are different characters, heightened
funny patterns, and let loose. Improv can create the structure
to be silly without real harmful consequences. Uh, it's a
very healing thing to do. Uh so what what what
are your what are your thoughts on that? Like bringing
play either to for to performance. I think it's so
(20:03):
important makes it so much more enjoyable to look at,
like the fun moments that you can create or treasure. Um,
a hundred and ten percent. And isn't that the best
part of sometimes hanging out with friends is doing bits
and playing games together in a casual and then you
just like, uh, we're okay with sharing this part in
(20:27):
front of an audience. Um and so, and I do
think that like everyone can do it because everyone makes
people laugh at different parties or gatherings in some way,
shape or form. So, um, yeah, but it's cool to
think intentionally about it. I agree. I think that's a
great point, Marietta. I think to like as far as
(20:50):
like a sense of play goes, you know. Um, I
associate that with like. I think it's like a healthy
way in to like Santi with some sort of like
childlike version of yourself. And I don't mean like childlike
in terms of immature. I just mean like child life
in terms of like youthful, you know what I mean?
(21:10):
Um and uh. I think improv is one of those
things where I think it's tough to do improv well
and not have a good time. So in a weird way,
improv teaches you how to have fun, you know, like
or can help remind you how to make a situation
(21:31):
fun and that doesn't have to be bad, you know.
And I think that there are moments where in life,
if you want to, you can choose to make it fun.
You can choose to bring joy to some something and
not like in a silly, irresponsible way, but I think
like in a defiant way. You know, you can be
like I'm going to choose to make this thing joyful.
I'm gonna choose I'm gonna choose to enjoy this moment. Yeah,
(21:54):
absolutely absolutely, And that like once you kind of are saying,
let's have fun. In this you give permission to people
around you to also have a fun time. Yeah. We
will be right back with more ridiculous news after this
short break. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, don't confused ridiculous news.
(22:21):
All right, y'all, we're back. We've got a few more
stories for you. This next headline reads Fortnite manufacturer sued
by Canadian parents over games alleged addictive properties. So this
article is out at deadline dot com. Uh, and I
caught my eye up because you know, I played a
(22:42):
lot of video games growing up, at least I think
I played. I don't know what a lot is, but
I remember playing video games a lot, uh, growing up.
And you know, I'm sure my parents wish maybe I
didn't play as much of them sometimes I don't know.
But anyway, in this, in this particular story, uh, a
group of Canadian parents are suing US based Epic Games
(23:05):
over its massive Fortnite franchise, claiming it makes children into
gaming addicts who stopped eating, sleeping, and showering. Um, so
it was an interesting headline to me. So BBC News
reports the Canadian Supreme Court judge has now authorized the
lawsuit that was filed against Fortnite's Epic Games by Quebec parents.
(23:28):
They claim their gamers are quote severely dependent on the
first person shooter game, which is a worldwide audience of
more than eighty million players. So recently, the Canadian judge
ruled the lawsuit was not quote frivolous or manifestly ill founded.
(23:48):
The court concludes that there is a serious issue to
be argued, supported by sufficient and specific allegations as to
the existence of risks or even dangers arising from use
a Fortnite. So the law firm that brought the action
said Epic Games was akin to a tobacco manufacturer and
(24:08):
claimed the legal responsibility was quote basically the same. I've
not heard videos games discussed in this way before, have you. No, no, no,
And um, it sounds like they're like, it's really truly
not our fault that we want to be on video games.
It's it's all on you. And that's interesting, it is
it is interesting. Yeah, So I guess according to this article,
(24:33):
the the lawsuit can move forward. Um. And that was
the Canadian judge said that the lawsuit can move forward. Uh.
And the Canadian judge said that he didn't believe the
parents claims the Epic Games intentionally made Fortnite addictive, which
I think is also an interesting distinction. Um. However, the
(24:53):
article goes on to say the court didn't agree with
the parents claimed the Epic Games deliberately made Fortnite addict.
I uh, he added quote, this does not exclude the
possibility that the game isn't fact addictive, and that its
designer and distributor are presumed to know it. So I
guess this will be an ongoing dialogue. You know. Yeah,
(25:15):
I wonder how they can make it more boring so
that kids would want to put it down. Um, Like
do they have a challenge where it's like you have
to play solitaire for six hours? Or Um? What else
would be? Maybe just run through a field for a while,
you know, something more relaxing, Like maybe there can be
(25:37):
like a bedtime story segment. Um. I wonder what else
they could do. We also get to hear from Epic
Games in this article as well. So Epic Games denied
the validity of the suit in a statement obtained by BBC.
UH there's a quote that says parents can receive playtime
reports that track the amount of time their child plays
each week and require parental permission before purchases are made.
(26:00):
The company said, we plan to fight this in court.
We believe the evidence will show that this case is meritless.
So that was there position on it. I don't know.
When I was reading through bits of this article, my
response was like, I don't know, like how addictive video
games are or not, because they're just so many types
of video games. But my brain kind of went to
(26:23):
something like, you know, TikTok, Like TikTok's addictive for me,
where it's just like they know how to show me
exactly what I want and I keeps growing, keeps growing.
That's addictive, and so you know, it makes sense that
like a video game could potentially have like similar properties.
And I don't know what Fortnite I don't play, do
you play? No? I wish I did, or I wish
(26:47):
I knew more about them. I think I went to
a Mario party and I came in last I kept
going backwards. I it's but TikTok I am definitely addicted to.
And the person who invented the never ending scroll, um
he takes a lot of ownership for um it being
(27:09):
a bad idea because I know that that used to
help me stop scrolling Facebook and stuff. I'd be like,
I'm just gonna get to the end of the page
and then I'll log off. But now there's no end,
right right, right right, Yeah, it's yeah that never winning
scrolls really interesting, and and the reason it made me
think of TikTok was just like, Okay, well here's something
(27:30):
that I've experienced, and I'm like, this definitely has addictive
properties in it, you know, and I can put it
down now, or I can delete the app now. But
I was kind of thinking about, like not too long
in the future, where it's like they get so good
a video game or an app or whatever and they
make it so like you can't put it down, you know,
Like that kind of that kind of had me curious.
(27:53):
You know, yeah, yeah, I'm sure we're not too far
away from that. It's so, yeah, well, I'll be interested
to see how this lawsuit plays out. I guess you know,
it'll be it'll be interesting to see, yes, because some
people when they get to um, it's like a whole
different type of literacy, and then you get rewarded for
(28:15):
knowing so much about the world. UM, So that can
be really cool, but then also which you should shower?
I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true, that's true.
We have one more headline for today. This one's from
axios dot com by Ned Oliver, and uh, it's a
(28:38):
story out of Richmond. The headline is Richmond removes its
last Confederate monument and this is the last city owned one.
So the article from Axios goes on to say workers
in Richmond, Virginia, removed the last city owned Confederate statue
from its pedestal and this was very recently. Uh. The
moment marks the close of a two year effort to
remove memorials to the Confederacy and its formal capital. City
(29:02):
and state leaders had long resistant calls to take down
Confederate iconography, but more recently more of these have come down,
especially um in the summer, amid widespread protests against police misconduct. Uh,
there were a lot more Confederate monuments being taken down
(29:23):
in the city. And uh yeah, so it's so it's
interesting to see this one finally come down. And and
I guess what struck me about this article was just like,
even once people decide like, hey, this thing needs to go,
it can still be a year's long process to get
these monuments removed. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, um so much when
(29:46):
you would think they could just press the button and
it could go away. Absolutely Yeah, that's what that's what
you that's what you would think. Um. And now I
guess it's just kind of a question of I guess
where the statue will go. So workers at the time
of this article, we're still dismantling the pedestal. And this
(30:09):
is a Confederate statue of a Confederate general A. P. Hill,
And so his body is also a part. It's like,
I guess his body is also inside the statue somewhere.
So it's somewhere. I guess, perhaps at the base. I
I don't know, so there Yeah. So there was a
(30:33):
funeral home was on hand to transfer his body for
reburial at a cemetery in Culpepper. Uh. And apparently it's
the third time his remains have been, you know, reinterred. Uh.
But there's been a legal challenge filed by some of
Hill's relatives. Uh that's still working its way through the courts,
and they have opinions about where it should go. So
(30:54):
a judge rejected initial efforts to stop the removal altogether.
The family bers are now pushing to relocate the statue
of Hill to the same cemetery as his remains. So
so we'll see. Uh. The family members say they opposed
the city's plan to donate the statue to the Black
History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, which took ownership
(31:16):
of all the prior monuments that have been moved. Uh.
And so John Hill, who is a relative of A. P. Hill, said,
it's his headstone. Um, it would be like anybody else's
headstone with their family name on it. You don't want
to see that come down. I would say, it's not
like anybody else's family headstone, you know, like this is
(31:39):
a Confederate monument that clearly stands for a certain purpose,
you know, and is meant to communicate a certain message.
So you know, I just don't think it's like this
isn't your standard grandfather's head stone. No. No, he can
get the little oval too, we can. We can get
a little oval and it could be fine. You put
a little picture on it if you really want to.
(32:00):
You John Well, y'all glad to see Richmond experiencing that
form of progress. Hopefully it continues there and elsewhere, you know,
as we try to rethink how we remember certain aspects
of history. And uh, now it seems like as good
a time as any to move on to our spring
of inspiring inspirations. So this is where we pull an
inspiring quote to send you off on a positive note.
(32:22):
And this quote we're talking about improv comedy a little earlier. Uh,
this quote from Lucille Ball, and it is I'd rather
regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't.
And I felt that was similar to what we talked
about earlier about embracing mistakes. And uh, if Lucille Ball
says that that's a good thing to do, especially when
it comes to comedy, I'm like, yeah, I'll listen to
(32:43):
Lucille on that one. Yeah. Well, Mary atta, As always,
it's been such a pleasure to have you on the podcast.
You always bring me such joy whenever I get to
see you, and recording with you as always such a treat.
So how can listeners stay in touch with you? Follow you,
support you anything you want to say? You too? Thank
(33:05):
you so much. This is my favorite podcast. My Instagram
is just Marionetta, which is n R I E O
N E t t A. Thank you so so much again,
absolutely absolutely uh and thank you listeners. We realize you
have a lot of options what to listen to, so
the fact that you would tune in just means so
(33:25):
much and we genuinely say thank you. You can stay
in touch by emailing us at Ridiculous News at I
heart media dot com and on Facebook and I G
be sure to follow Ridiculous News, and you check out
our comedy videos at Mark Kendall Comedy by All. Ridiculous
(33:53):
News is hosted by Mark Kendall and Bill Warley. Executive
producers are Ben Bolland and Noel Brown, produced and edited
by Tari Harris In research provided by Casey Willis and
theme music by four Eyes and Doctor Delight. Four more
podcasts from my Heart Radio visit the I heart Radio app,
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