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Author Archive | Alison Rosen

Hutch Harris

ARIYNBF Hutch Harris

Hutch Harris of one of my very favorite bands The Thermals stops by Dining Room Studios to talk about what it’s like playing in a band with someone he used to date, how he and Kathy met and why they broke up, Portland’s “budtenders,” recording the first Thermals album by himself and then putting a band together to play for Sub Pop, coolness not coming naturally to him, his childhood, growing up religious, taking PCP and then going to a church group, losing his virginity, how he got into comedy, anger issues and therapy, night terrors, cats and so much more. We also took your questions over Twitter, did a round of Just Me Or Everyone and Hutch played “Thinking of You” and “My Heart Went Cold” from the brand new Thermals album, We Disappear, which is out now.

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And here’s Hutch playing “Thinking of You”

Here’s Hutch playing “My Heart Went Cold”

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Pilot Shoots and Lemon Pranks

ARIYNBF Pilot Shoots & Lemon Pranks

 

On this episode we recounted the recent shooting of my pilot and Greg’s affinity for on-set pranks. Plus all the coffee I drink while performing, whether people have better sides, sausages, Vanderpump Rules, what #AL knows about pillows, everyone’s pillow preference, how to write numbers, frozen dinners and upsetting revelations courtesy of my husband. Plus we did a round of Just Me Or Everyone and talked about an adoptable dog named Mr. Wilson.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (Clicking through the Amazon banner helps support the show. Thank you in advance for your support! Clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!) and Me Undies.

 

Here’s Mr. Wilson:

mrwilson

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a fun pre-show video:

 

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Margaret Cho

ARIYNBF Margaret Cho

For this very special episode, we went on location to Margaret Cho’s house to talk with her about her recent appearance on Korean SNL, things that frighten her, learning how to talk about sexual abuse onstage and the challenge of asking people to laugh instead of cry, choosing anger over forgiveness, the role of violence in art, her upcoming album American Myth (it comes out April 29 and the songs are beautiful and haunting and still stuck in my head and you should definitely get the album), growing up the unhappy daughter of a Korean joke book author, getting English credit for working a phone sex line, the profound effect Robin Williams and Joan Rivers had on her, her favorite style of porn, thinking she was gay and then realizing she was bisexual, evil twin crime shows, body image and so much more. We also took your questions over Twitter and did a round of Just Me Or Everyone.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (Clicking through the Amazon banner helps support the show. Thank you in advance for your support! Clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!)

 

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Ode to a Tea Kettle Plus Lupron and Headaches

kettle

 

If you’re looking for an electric kettle because you’re tired of growing old while waiting for water to boil on the stove and/or waiting for it to boil in the microwave, I can’t recommend this one enough. It’s my favorite thing in the morning aside from Daniel and Wendy. It might even be on par with them. I did a lot of research because I find myself unable to buy anything online without making a whole big thing out of it, and what started as an idle thought, “I’d like to get an electric kettle because I’d like to drink a hot beverage in the same calendar year in which I start the process,” turned into a days long spiritual journey. Actually, that’s not true. But fuck it took me a long time. Anyway, fast forward to now and it was the best 30 or so dollars I’ve spent in a long time. There were kettles that were definitely cuter (I almost bought one such number) however this one is super fast and reliable.

Also, it’s weird that I’m writing about a tea kettle when really, I could be telling you all about the experience of shooting my pilot. But no, today is for kettles.

Also it’s for telling you that I’m on daily Lupron injections to suppress the endometriosis before transferring our frozen embryos (they’ll be thawed before transfer, perhaps with a splash of water from my electric kettle) and anyway, the side effects, of which there are many, have settled into a dull painful constant headache. I can handle the moodiness and the hot flashes, the fatigue and the forgetfulness, the lapse in judgment that makes me wax poetic about kettles, but I don’t know how long I can tolerate a constant headache. I’m not really a headache person. I’m more of a “pain in the guts” kind of person, in terms of what I deal with more frequently and my effect on other people. But in general I’m lucky enough not to feel daily pain outside of the endometriosis which I’ve been dealing with for so long, I don’t really notice it unless it’s particularly bad which is usually a few days a month. But not debilitating. Just uncomfortable. But I’m not a daily headache person except now I am. People with constant headaches, what do you do?

And while we’re talking about pain, I think of myself as a person with a healthy fear of pain but a pretty high threshold but the endometrial biopsy which is part of the mock cycle to figure out which day to transfer the embryos was incredibly painful. My doctor told me it would be a 6 or 7 out of 10 which struck me really high on the pain scale but I figured if something is really that painful, they wouldn’t do it without anesthesia. I don’t know why I thought that when she flat out told me how painful it would be. I guess because I’ve had other procedures (HSG test) that are supposed to be painful but they really didn’t bother me.

But back to kettles, here’s the tea I’ve been drinking lately. But I like to switch it up.

(BTW I’m not sponsored by any of the above products but if you buy through my Amazon banner on the right side of this web site or through the above links it throws a few cents my way. Just wanted to explain that because I could imagine people might think I’m on the tea kettle payroll but I am so not.)

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Trash Chat and Buffet Wishes

ARIYNBF Trash Chat & Buffet Wishes

Is it rude to not tie your garbage bag before tossing it in the can? This was the genesis of a disagreement in the House of Greg so we moved said conflict to the show. We also did an epic Easter-themed Snack Chat with goodies Jenna and Al brought back from Utah, discussed buffets and Souplantation, discussed the word “plantation” and talked about Alison and Greg’s upcoming TV shoot. Plus drug and injection chat in The Biological Clock, Dustin’s wedding, Star Wars and Game of Thrones. And we did a round of Just Me Or Everyone and talked about an adoptable dog named Elmo.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (Clicking through the Amazon banner helps support the show. Thank you in advance for your support! Clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!)

 

Here’s Elmo:

elmo

 

 

 

 

And here’s a fun pre-show video:

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Rhea Seehorn Returns

ARIYNBF Rhea Seehorn

 

Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul) returns to the show to chat about being paralyzed by indecision, the audition process for Better Call Saul (it involved fake scripts and fake characters), the ways in which she is and isn’t like BCS‘s Kim Wexler, auditioning in general and her evolving approach, the “agenda” she had for the first third of her career, what she used to look like, growing up in a chaotic household, why she considers Blink a “spiritual text,” the surprising and hilarious way she met her fiance, hanging on to her beat up car as an act of rebellion, adult acne, therapy and so much more. We also took your questions over Twitter and did a round of Just Me Or Everyone.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (Clicking through the Amazon banner helps support the show. Thank you in advance for your support! Clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!)

 

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Email Systems and Drifter Butlers

ARIYNBF Email Systems and Drifter Butlers

 

On this episode we talked about complicated restaurant orders, #Al’s intense email system, drifter butlers, everyone’s bad Australian accents, The Grateful Dead, John Mayer and the return of Yes Please or No Thank You Or Oh, Puh-leeze. We also did around of Just Me Or Everyone and talked about an adoptable dog named Pernelia. (Update, Pernelia has been adopted. But check out Gus and Azul!)

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!) and Casper (use promo code BESTFRIEND). And shop in my Amazon store! 

 

And here’s Pernelia (update, Pernelia has been adopted!)

Pernelia'

 

 

And here’s Gus

gus

 

And here’s Azul (Azul’s situation is URGENT)

 

azul

 

 

 

 

 

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Stevie Ryan Returns

ARIYNBF Stevie Ryan

Stevie Ryan returns to the show to talk about kidney stones, being stoned, ballet and how it’s helped her depression, depression in general, suicidal tendencies and cutting, being “on pointe,” hypnotherapy, sleep eating, body dysmorphia, comedy pilots, auditions, drugs, dudes grinding on you, Tetris and so much more. We also took your questions over Twitter and did a round of Just Me Or Everyone.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!)  And shop in my Amazon store! 

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Alison’s Hugs and Big Pink Cats!

ARIYNBF Alison's Hugs and Big Pink Cats

 

Do I give the kind of hugs that could best be described as non-committal and tentative? I think of myself as a distributor of warm snuggly hugs however the feedback I’ve received of late would suggest otherwise. We delved into this gritty topic along with a discussion of a sex dream involving Jimmy Pardo, my recent consecutive social engagements, a backhanded insult which isn’t a thing but it was, Phil Rosenthal’s food and travel show, Jenna’s tour de force as a cat from the South, St. Patrick’s Day, Al getting a tweet from LL Cool J and so much more. We also did a round of Just Me Or Everyone and talked about an adoptable dog named Leonna.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!) and Lootcrate (enter code ALISON) and SquarespaceAnd shop in my Amazon store! 

 

Here’s Leonna:

leonna

 

 

 

And here’s a fun pre-show video:

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Jen Kirkman Returns

ARIYNBF Jen Kirkman

 

Jen Kirkman returns to Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend to talk about all sorts of stuff including her new book which I loved so much I wanted to crawl inside and live there, I Know What I’m Doing And Other Lies I Tell Myself: Dispatches from a Life Under Construction (out April 12th but available for pre-order now), Twitter battles which aren’t really battles, Bernie Bros, commonsenseytocin, “lulz,” how she used to see herself, the feeling that one’s too loud, Mittens, fun coats, how she chooses a restaurant, Ronnie Kirkman, Australia, relationships and so much more. We also took your questions over Twitter and did a round of Just Me Or Everyone.

Download the episode from iTunes.

You probably need to buy the new ARIYNBF LOGO tshirt and get the Bumbershoot bonus episode!

This show is brought to you by Amazon (clear your cookies first and what the hell, make a bookmark!)  And shop in my Amazon store! 

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