conversation transcript

matt: Have you ever seen John Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise?
me: nope
matt: There is a chapter in that book entitled "700 Hobo Names"
me: i imagine it is hilarious?
matt: I heard an excerpt from the audio book recently which is John Hodgman reading all 700 of the hobo names, accompanied by Jonathan Coulton playing Big Rock Candy Mountain on the guitar for an hour
me: just repeatedly?
matt: Yeah
me: with lyrics?
matt: No, it's just acoustic guitar and hobo names. Actually, I think it's online
here. There is apparently also a website where different illustrators have drawn all 700 of the hobos at http://e-hobo.com
me: when was this written? when was it recorded?
matt: Recently
me: i was gonna say, it sounds like it. so whys it on archive.org?
matt: They don't necessarily just have old stuff, I think
me: just public domain stuff
matt: It's a good source of crappy royalty-free music to use in your non-union late night mattress store commercial. #52: Boxcar Benjamin Disraeli
me (aside): whoa, i do NOT want a job designing sets for a rock opera based on the revelations of st john the divine which incorporates the imagery of ezekiel and daniel!
matt: That sounds terrible
me: yeah
matt: Oh lord
me: it said, we'd prefer someone with a creative eye. uhhh....
matt: Did you ever see the video of the Ten Commandments musical starring Val Kilmer?
me: i dont want to again, please
matt: Fair enough
me: that was pretty awful
matt: It's supposed to be coming to Radio City. I'm awfully tempted
me: is val kilmer still in it?
matt: Yeah
me: can he hear the life of his career being hate-crime-dragged behind the touring bus the entire way?
matt: I can only imagine
me: #76: vice-president garrett hobarth . . . are there really 700 of these?
matt: Oh yes

/// maybe you've already heard this. i don't think you're supposed to make it the whole way through, really. it's pretty funny, although i don't recommend the illustrated part.