The Armadillo Podcast

Mother Nature Displeased with Texas Legislature. Save Yourself for Kinky or Suffer a Plague or Two

Mother Nature, AKA the Great Spirit, is fixing to put the hurt on Texas.  But what you do today might make a difference.

Once upon a time, in 1901, the Texas legislature named the bluebonnet the state flower.  According to the Texas State Historical Association, some Indian lore said that this pretty flower was a gift from the Great Spirit.

Flash forward over a hundred years and three special sessions to solve the education crises in Texas, and the bluebonnets are dying.

  Texas bluebonnet Originally uploaded by DogMyCats.

While experts are saying that our high-level drought will cause the these lovelies to put on a lesser show this year, we here at The Armadillo Podcast wonder if it might be something more dire.

Perhaps the Great Spirit is displeased with the way the Texas Legislature has repeatedly mucked up school finance despite three special sessions and millions and millions of wasted tax dollars.  Perhaps the Great Spirit thinks our current governor Rick Perry speaks with a forked tongue when he tries to claim that everything is A-OK with Texas' education system.

What can you do to make the Great Spirit smile upon Texas again?

Stay home from the primaries today and save your vote for Kinky Friedman.  See "Is Texas Ready for Kinky?" for all the details.

Remember, only you can save the bluebonnets.

Want to hear Kinky talk about the issues?  Download The Armadillo Podcast interview with Kinky back in Episode 9.

Texas bluebonnet photo originally uploaded on Flickr by DogMyCats

Save Yourself For Kinky: Don't vote in the primaries

The Texas primaries start on March 7th and this is a good a time as any to implore you to "Save Yourself for Kinky."

Sadly the Democrats don't stand a chance this year, so your vote in the Democratic primary is pointless.  The one and only opportunity for any change is for Kinky Friedman to be elected governor.  And the only way for him to get on the ballot is if nearly 50,000 registered voters sign his petition.  The only voters eligible, according to Texas law, are those that have not voted in the primary.

So stay away from the ballot box in March and save yourself for Kinky.

If you were fortunate enough to catch him in the CMT reality show, Go Kinky, you saw how funny the man can be.  If you'd like hear his more serious side, come dowload Episode 9 of The Armadillo Podcast.

In mainstream media, Kinky is on Fox News today with Neil Cavuto.

Kinky also added some new quips to his repertoire in the Dallas Business Journal article, where he tells why he won't meet with lobbyists when he becomes governor.

* * * * *

Want to hear Kinky's old songs from the 70's that got 60 Minutes all in a twist?  Click here to listen to 30-second clips.

Homesick for Texas?

If you're homesick for Texas, take a listen to some of our guests on The Armadillo Podcast. 

Download a little twang into your iPod and then go find a BBQ joint in your neighborhood.  Order the ribs and a beer, then turn up the volume on one of shows. The food may not taste like the Salt Lick BBQ back home, but listening to these folks talk  will  almost make you feel like you're having a sit-down, family-style meal. (Complete episode guide after the jump.)

Listen to The Armadillo Podcast and meet  some of  Austin's most interesting  people. The Armadillo Podcast exists solely to convince Galia, my best friend living out in California to move to Austin, TX.

That may sound like a small niche but the people who love Austin and its quirky ways are a large and passionate audience. 

And I intend to ask every person in Austin to share their affection for the city through his podcast interviews until my friend moves to town. 

Previous guests who joined me so far on this quest so far have included Kinky Friedman, Melicious, one of the Texas Rollergirls and David Brown, the host of KUT's Texas Music Matters program.

In trying to convince my friend to "come home with the armadillo," like the song says, I’ve so far interviewed 18 people in Austin, the country's 16th largest city.  That's 18 down and 656,544 to go till I either interview them all, or my friend gives in and moves here.  But this show is really about the things that make Austin special. It's an online radio postcard that says "Wish you were here," to all our friends abroad.

My friend Galia, an Israeli woman who lives in Northern California, has been my friend for nearly twenty years.  Since The Armadillo Podcast launched last year, I've interviewed Austin authors, musicians, politicians, every day Austinites and I end every show by asking Galia if she’s ready to move.   However, every week, my friend says, "No, I won't.”



Will Galia ever move to Austin?  Don't miss a single episode of The Armadillo Podcast and find out.

Subscribe to The Armadillo Podcast Newsletter.

Sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts at the iTunes Music Store.

Headliner's Club: Austinites in the News

Some of our previous guests on The Armadillo Podcast have been making news of late:

Kinky Friedman became the first the first Texas gubenatorial candidate to share a dais with Peter, Paul, Mary and Arlo at Austin's Folk Alliance conference.  Kinky also has a chuckle-worthy new campaign cartoon now online.

• Interested in hearing Kinky's vision for future of Texas?   Click here for Episode 9 of The Armadillo Podcast.

Caroline A. Shearer, freelancer writer, columnist and blogger, has just been nominated as a finalist for one of the Austin 40 Under 40 Awards.  Every year, the Young Men's Business League and the Young Women's Alliance, honor Austinites who have made "substantial contributions" in their professional fields and in community service.  Caroline was one of five nominees in the Arts/Entertainment category.  It's interesting to note that of the 50 nominees, our girl Caroline is the only one listed as an "Independent."

• Hear our interview with Caroline in Episode 13.

Richard Garriott, legendary gamesmaker and creator of the soon-to-be-released Tabula Rasa game, tells Next Generation "Why You Should Never Work with Your Brother."

• Geek out with Richard during Episode 15.

Wayne Alan Brenner, is co-starring with Dan Dietz in A Human Interest Story: Or All the Gory Details, at the Blue Theater, Feb. 9 through March 4.  Go see Wayne chew the scenery and knock down the backdrops in this taut drama about a politician who chooses to end his life in front of a gaggle of reporters.

• Listen to Wayne, count how many times we bleeped him during Episode 16.

Come Home with the Armadillo Podcast

Who are all these folks?   (Complete episode guide after the jump.)

Listen to The Armadillo Podcast and meet  some of  Austin's most interesting  people. The Armadillo Podcast exists solely to convince Galia, my best friend living out in California to move to Austin, TX.

That may sound like a small niche but the people who love Austin and its quirky ways are a large and passionate audience. 

And I intend to ask every person in Austin to share their affection for the city through his podcast interviews until my friend moves to town. 

Previous guests who joined me so far on this quest so far have included Kinky Friedman, Melicious, one of the Texas Rollergirls and David Brown, the host of KUT's Texas Music Matters program.

In trying to convince my friend to "come home with the armadillo," like the song says, I’ve so far interviewed 18 people in Austin, the country's 16th largest city.  That's 18 down and 656,544 to go till I either interview them all, or my friend gives in and moves here.  But this show is really about the things that make Austin special. It's an online radio postcard that says "Wish you were here," to all our friends abroad.

My friend Galia, an Israeli woman who lives in Northern California, has been my friend for nearly twenty years.  Since The Armadillo Podcast launched last year, I've interviewed Austin authors, musicians, politicians, every day Austinites and I end every show by asking Galia if she’s ready to move.   However, every week, my friend says, "No, I won't.”

Last week The Armadillo Podcast interviewed Richard Garriott, arguably one of the world's most famous computer game makers.  Galia found this adventurer, explorer and aspiring astronaut “interesting,” but his fondness for Austin still wasn’t enough to convince her to make the move.

Will Galia ever move to Austin?  Don't miss a single episode of The Armadillo Podcast and find out.

Subscribe to The Armadillo Podcast Newsletter.

Sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts at the iTunes Music Store.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Next Governor of the Great State of Texas"

That's the way Jay Leno introduced Kinky Friedman to the Tonight Show audience last night.

Jay should know.  He picked Arnold Schwarzenegger to be the next governor of California.  He also picked Million Dollar Baby to win the Oscar for Best Picture last year. But he was a little off in his prediction that Clay Aiken would win American Idol.  Still, his record his better than the Psychic Friends Network. (More after the jump...)

  Kinky 
  Originally uploaded by RubyJi.

This Just In: Kinky Friedman Appearing On Tonight Show

After he became a candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared several times on The Tonight Show and those spots on network television sealed his fate as California governor.

Kinky Friedman, our Governor in Waiting, will be sitting next to Jay Leno tomorrow night, so fire up your Tivo.  This is good timing for the Kinkster because our current governor is currently in Iraq, and I'd put money on a hunch that more voting Texans will be watching Kinky for entertainment, over Perry for war news. 

• To hear our interview with Kinky, click here.
• To hear all of Kinky's old songs that had 60 Minutes' Morley Safer sniffing around for a controversy,  click here for The Armadillo Podcast's Kinky Friedman iMix on iTunes.
• "Save yourself for Kinky!"

Kinky iTunes: Hear the Kinky Friedman Songs that got 60 Minutes in a Twist

Did you catch Kinky Friedman's appearance on 60 Minutes last night?  Our favorite candidate did alright even while Morley Safer tried to find controversy in thirty year-old Kinkster tunes.  "Does he worry that religious voters in the very religious state of Texas might be offended?" asked Safer.  He also asked Kinky's campaign manager if he was "concerned that some of Friedman's songs, such as "They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore," might offend religious Christian voters."

Before he was Texas' Governor in Waiting, before he wrote the 23 mystery novels, Kinky was a song writer and they definitely don't make song writers like him anymore. Sadly, when you speak with a twang, folks often fail to hear that you have your tongue planted squarely in your cheek.

If you'd like to hear some of Kinky's most notorious songs, check out The Armadillo Podcast's Kinky Friedman iMix on iTunes.  For your downloading pleasure, we've put together a mix of five of Kinky's most well-known songs including "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed" and "They Don't Make Jew Like Jesus Anymore."  This song, according to 60 Minutes, "led to threats by both Jewish groups and anti-Semites, though they all failed to see he was trying to point out the ignorance of bigotry."

Warning: These songs are not safe for work (NSFW), for school, your parents, children, those folks easily offended, lacking a sense of humor or the politically correct.

Subscribe to The Armadillo Podcast Newsletter.

Sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts at the iTunes Music Store.

Kinky on 60 Minutes this Sunday

Fire up your Tivo because Kinky Friedman will be interviewed by Morley Safer on 60 Minutes this Sunday.

According to CBS News, Morley will want to know, "can a Jewish country singer who is not exactly a rock star and who has no political experience get elected in a state like Texas in 2006?"  I don't think 60 Minutes will make the man who wants to de-wussify Texas cry on camera, but you never know.

Morely does ask about the "bad habits" of musicians, to which Kinky replies...

Gifts for Those Who Have Everything

What present can you possibly for the family member who has everything?

How about a real, aluminum Festivus pole or a talking Kinky Friedman action figure?

If you live in Texas you may have seen the action figure doing all the talking for Kinky in a series of television ads.  If you're out of state, you can view all the campaign ads here. 

I called down to campaign headquarters to check on availability and they've temporarily run out.  You can, however, get on the waiting list and the new action figures should arrive in January.

As for the aluminum Festivus poles, Seinfeld fans will fondly remember this tradition from the made up holiday.  And just like George Castanza, we here at The Armadillo Podcast will be taking the next few days off to be with the family for the traditional airing of grievances and feats of strength.

Happy Festivus, everybody!