BellGab.com Archive

Quote from: 21st Century Man on December 07, 2015, 07:22:07 PM
Thank God there is Art.  I've about given up on Hoagland.

You cursed us is what you did. I blame you.

Quote from: The General on December 11, 2015, 05:04:56 PM

Thanks for one final ride, Art.  It was better than ever.

I wouldn't say 'better than ever.'  Satisfactory maybe... but not better.

Quote from: Philosopher on December 12, 2015, 08:42:11 AM
I think someone should call or email the Pahrump police department. Let's see a written response.

Vicki Canon wrote on Artbell.com:

I just called the Nye County Sheriff's dispatcher, and she says there have been incidents at the Bell property and that officers were sent out to investigate. I still have a sneaking suspicion that only the first incident really happened the way Art described, and the following incidents were a ruse. Just my opinion.

Quote from: Paper*Boy on December 12, 2015, 04:04:17 AM
Does he?  I think he's astonishingly dishonest and his smarmy arrogant personality is an attempt to hide it, but I suppose he really could be that delusional.

If nothing else, the silver lining is that he's gone too.

Amen to THAT brother!

Quote from: SredniVashtar on December 12, 2015, 07:39:14 AM
Art doesn't owe anybody anything. At worst, he has come back and done a lot of shows that we would not previously have had. He could have said, 'sorry, 5 months is enough' and walked away, and I wouldn't have criticised him for it. The main reason I have misgivings is the number of false steps he has made over the last months, both prior to and during the new show, and it all adds up to a feeling that this was one gig too far and he should have stayed retired. That happens in many walks of life: people just go on a bit too long, although their fans are reluctant to admit it.

The build-up to the show was fraught with all sorts of issues, ranging from the bumper music to the fight with Keith. He also didn't seem to have any idea of the new media landscape and thought that we could simply get the word out and it would all fall into place like magic. I don't think the website was ever geared to a long-term tenure either: it was very basic and had little functionality. He really needed someone else to come in and improve it, but we all know that he was virtually wedded to Keith and wouldn't have considered anyone else. This all created a homespun air to the enterprise that made it feel very short-term to me.

The show itself was also quite disappointing. Few of the guests challenged the great shows of the past, for example, and it felt too often like someone trying to recapture old glories and not quite getting there. It was all very competent but the magic was lost. It was also too short: the show was unbalanced at three hours and you missed the old first hour where he would discuss the news. The callers were also very poor. That is not his fault, of course, but his obsession with audio meant that he seemed to privilege those with decent call quality over anyone else. The fact that scratchy call quality actually helps the kind of show he does was lost on him. I felt that he had been too long out of the game and had forgotten what made him great in the first place.

Finally, he made some very odd decisions over the last months. That business of the 'announcement' was a case in point. It was a minor bit of housekeeping that could have been taken care of in a few seconds, yet he saw fit to tease his subscribers  for several days over a detail that affected nobody. It was as pointless as it was bizarre. I don't know the details behind that harassing of RCH a few weeks ago. It was hinted at that Art was behind it. If so, that's disgraceful. RCH might be a dick, but that kind of passive aggressive stuff shows Art in a very bad light, if true. How on earth he could have countenanced Leo Ashcraft as his newsreader is truly mind-blowing. To stomach that idiot's bumbling for several months still makes me shake my head, and it felt like Art did not care all that much, and that he was a perfectionist no longer. His drafting in of Heather is another example: I am sure she is a fine person, but she has no track record and it is unfair on her to expect anything but mediocrity. Even an experienced pro would struggle to follow Art.

The fact is, he doesn't really enjoy doing the show on a regular basis, and hasn't since he 'retired' the first time. Every so often he gets twitchy and wants to come out and do it again, then he gets bored once more and goes away. Would Art really have said 'fuck it, I'm off!' twenty years ago when he was building the show? No. Why doesn't he say the show is on temporary hiatus while things get sorted out? After all, if the stalker is apprehended tomorrow, that means he can come back on Monday, right? I don't think so. This business of doing a few shows here and there is what suggests to me that he really had grown bored of it and wanted out, but liked to have the option to come back every so often.

I don't think people are really entitled to feel 'let down' by Art, because we all know what he is like, or should do. I will always be a big fan of his earlier stuff, but it's hard to keep that going over a long period and it eventually catches up with you, as it did with Stern and Phil Hendrie. I think it is possible to be critical of Art while having respect for him. In this instance, he just went on a bit too long; but thanks, Art, for coming back and having another go.

Very well said!

Quote from: coaster on October 06, 2015, 01:25:11 AM
I forget who said it, but in the past someone here said it sounded like hoagland was broadcasting from a hull of a ship. That is still the funniest thing I have read here, ever. Still make me laugh.

Think I said it about 2 minutes ago.

Quote from: trostol on October 06, 2015, 01:22:49 AM
lol now that you said that..i totally picture it now lol

Maybe he's broadcasting from his ship in New Mexico???

Quote from: SciFiAuthor on October 06, 2015, 01:20:31 AM
"This is after the Lusitania." Richard is slipping into Dick Cavett mode.

Well...they ARE both Dicks after all.

Quote from: RoseGirl on October 06, 2015, 01:19:18 AM
that sound is a mini-braap, I think

The official term is QUASI-BRAAP

Being an old Navy man... the brapping so sounds like a ship rolling in the waves.

Quote from: VoteQuimby on October 06, 2015, 01:16:51 AM
This is reminding me of the first week of OSM with the trippy music and constant screw ups.

I just love it when he has technical difficulties. We need to tape all those together... I bet it would be soooo funny!

Ooooooo... I like this music. What is it?

Ladies and gentlemen... THIS is why I listen to Hoagie. He's awesome tonight.

It's so weird!  It's a conspiracy!!!

Phones ringing, brapping, ... it is all that makes him so dam enduring.

Suppose Hoagie could just play music all night long. Like maybe AIRSHIP MUSIC.

Yeeeesssssssssss?

With all the brapping going on it sounds like they are on an airship.

I think that's a record for him going to break.

Quote from: Royal_Tenenbaum on October 06, 2015, 01:06:21 AM
ANSWER HOAGIE! I need to know what your favorite color is and how many dates before you can hold hands!

I want to know how long he can hold his breathe.  Trick question!!!  He can't!  That would require him to stop talking!

Quote from: trostol on October 06, 2015, 01:05:27 AM
i would love..to travel by an airship...

i would love a show on steampunk but i think that doesnt really have 2 hours worth of talking to it lol

I want a show on the Swedish Ear Wax industry.

Quote from: trostol on October 06, 2015, 01:04:43 AM
now i am all sorts of a liar lol

Your cool man. That worked out so perfectly.

Quote from: trostol on October 06, 2015, 01:03:43 AM
oh what is creaking or rubbing around..its kinda distracting

Oh we never ask about that. It's a private thing for him. VERY private.

Quote from: trostol on October 06, 2015, 01:03:04 AM
that sorta ended

You were saying???

Quote from: Royal_Tenenbaum on October 06, 2015, 01:02:30 AM
WHY THE F*CK is your phone not ringing Richard?

Has anyone ever stayed on the line when he answered?

Sounds like he has the pig from Amityville Horror in his room. Scary!

So do you guys still call in right away and hang up? Suppose Hoagie doesn't fall for that anymore.

Quote from: coaster on October 06, 2015, 12:57:55 AM
I'm confused.

It also confuses you.

Night all.

Quote from: Barfly on October 06, 2015, 12:55:56 AM
Both, sometimes special numbers for certain topics

Good. I want to hear some truck drivers call in.