February 9, 2008
This week on A Prairie Home Companion, we're broadcasting live from the Fitzgerald Theater with special guests, the self-described "mother" of Bluegrass, Mr. Sam Bush, and back by popular demand, the valedictorian of an Angel Choir, singer-songwriter Suzy
Bogguss. Also with us, The Royal Academy of Radio Actors: Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and Tom Keith, The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band
with Rich Dworksy, John Niemann and Joe Savage. All this, plus the News From Lake Wobegon, this Saturday.
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Lots of chances to get in on Prairie Home fun in 2008. On February 1 and 2, and February 8 and 9, we're at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. After that, we hit the road — on February 16 to Bloomington, Indiana, for a show at the Indiana University Auditorium, and on February 23 to Winona, Minnesota, for a
show at McCown Gymnasium on the campus of Winona State University. Then it's back to the Fitzgerald on February 29 and March 1; March 7 and 8; and March 14 and 15. After that, we're back to New York!
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Greetings:
A friend of mine says she is booked to see you in Chico, CA on Valentine's Day. But Chico, fine town that it is, is not listed on the APHC Schedule. Is she deluded or do you still have a day job and are going there
in another capacity?
Cordially,
Ann W.
Birmingham, England
A few years ago, Ann, I discovered the intense pleasure of standing in front of an audience and telling stories for ninety minutes, and I do that now and then, to keep in shape and also to meet people who listen to the show (which I myself don't get to do). And most of the time
they pay me to do this. I occasionally get carried away and go for two hours or more, which can be a problem for older men in the audience, but it's good to stretch out. And it's hard work. As for Chico, it's up beyond Sacramento, in an agricultural part of California where they grow things on
trees and bushes, and I once stayed there in a modest old shotgun-style house, white frame, with several screened porches on it, and woke up hearing birds and got dressed and went off to a breakfast somebody had arranged with the poet Gary Snyder and the writer John McPhee, two heroes of mine at one breakfast table. Have you read John
McPhee? Everything he writes is golden, though his books on geology can be slow going, and I'd especially recommend "Oranges" and "The Crofter and the Laird," though everything is superb.
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Thank you to everyone who entered this year's People in Their Twenties talent contest. The deadline has passed, and we are no longer accepting entries. Watch this space for a list of finalists sometime during the last week of February...
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Did you hear about the two antenna's that got married?
The wedding was terrible, but the reception was great.
This joke was sent in by Neil H. of Seattle, WA. Thanks Neil!
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Listen to The News from Lake Wobegon wherever and whenever you want. We're pleased to announce GK's signature monologue is now available as a free podcast, updated every Monday.
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February 04, 2008
Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. I was in something of a thoughtful mood as I'd spent half the day at a "morning for women" event at the local high school and my head was full. The school cafeteria was packed with tables and booths offering information on all kinds of topics from
how to identify breast lumps (there was a table full of rubber breasts you could feel; some had lumps, some didn't) to the steps to self actualization...
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January 29, 2008
Back in the day, we fundamentalists didn't mess with angels, sensing that Catholics owned the angel franchise, part of their dim smoky world of bead-rattling and hocus-pocus and lugubrious statuary, so instead we focused on the Holy Spirit who dwelt in all of us true believers and told us what to
do and what to say, which is convenient for people with plenty of self-confidence. You read some Scripture and work up a sweat over it and stand up in the sunlit sanctuary, no dinging or chanting, no costumes or choreography, and you open your mouth and out comes Truth, such as the doctrine of
Separation from the World, which was appealing to those of us with no social skills - if people didn't like us, it was proof of our righteousness.
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Listener-submitted short stories or poems about their homes or lives or whatever they fancy. Here are the latest:
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Program Sponsors
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Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon |
 In Lake Wobegon lives a good Lutheran lady who is quite prepared
to die and wishes to be cremated and her ashes placed inside a bowling ball and dropped into the lake, no prayers, no hymns, thank you very much. Meanwhile, the Detmer girl returns from California where she has made a killing in veterinary aromatherapy to marry her boyfriend Brent aboard Wally's
pontoon boat, presided over by her minister, Misty Naylor of the Sisterhood of the Sacred Spirit. Brent arrives on Thursday. On Saturday, a delegation of renegade Lutheran pastors from Denmark come to town on their tour of America, their punishment for having denied the divinity of Jesus. And
Barbara Peterson, whose mother, Evelyn, left the startling note about cremation and the bowling ball, is in love with a lovely fat man who slips around town in the dim light and reconnoiters with her at the Romeo Motel.
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Never Better: Stories from Lake Wobegon |
 Fans of A Prairie Home Companion eagerly await each new
collection of Garrison Keillor's "News from Lake Wobegon" monologues. Recorded during live radio broadcasts, Never Better features characters we know and love, a meditation on Christmas, migrating turtles, flying Elvises, and more warm, witty, poignant, often hilarious tales from America's favorite
storyteller. As they say in Lake Wobegon, "It could be worse." But what they think is: It's never been better. About 2 hours.
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A Prairie Home Companion: the DVD |
 Legendary director Robert Altman's take on Garrison Keillor's show
boasts a dream cast, terrific music, and a story that tugs at the heartstrings. Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen, and Tommy Lee Jones star in a film about the final broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show.
(Don't worry; it's only a movie.)
"What a lovely film this is, so gentle and whimsical, so simple and profound" —Roger Ebert.
"A great gang of stars having a great time, brilliantly directed by Robert Altman" —Larry King.
1 hour 45 min.
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When I Get Home: Songs |
Prairie Home Companion listeners are frequently treated to a song. Sometimes to a familiar tune, sometimes to original music—with words by Garrison Keillor. In them, he sings of home, love, friendship, family, faith, or just plain fun. These sixteen songs, specially recorded for this
collection, are some of his best.
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A Prairie Home DVD Collection |
 This 3 DVD set features classic A Prairie Home Companion broadcasts includes
special guests Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Leo Kottke, Doc Watson, Bobby McFerrin, The Everly Brothers, Taj Mahal, and Robin and Linda Williams. Music abounds, as do jokes, skits, and "The News from Lake Wobegon."
Order now! >> |
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