I was very fortunate that the great Steve Ritchie one of the greatest design minds in Pinball & Games and one of the most beloved members of the Pinball community was kind enough to give me time for a sit down interview on Saturday at Pintastic NE 2026.
Part 1
part 2
Some of you might be wondering why I break these into two parts. The primary reason is that my old Cannon Camera doesn’t record beyond 19 minutes at a time.
The logical question is why I don’t get a new one it’s because I like the thing and have been using it for over a decade and produces excellent video.
The 2nd logical question is why don’t I just edit the video into one, part of it is when I had the reputation as being “The hardest working man in the blogosphere” I would shoot so much video & attempt to get it up fast editing would take too much time but the other part is more basic. Back when I was reporting for money I made it a rule not to edit videos so that people who watched my material knew it was a true representation of what was said.
Given the choice of an edited interview or no interview the latter.is my choice. Given the choice of an edited video or no video give me no video.
Only broke the rule once for a catholic religious lady who let something slip for 2 seconds.
I have maintained that Pinball is an art, there is the actual artwork on the machines. The physical design of the machines, the art of the programing, the art of the story.
Today’s videos are of two different artists. One new to Pintastic Leo Reinhart:
I think it’s very appropriate for a pinball convention having a piece of art with balls being moved via gravity causing things to react. If they were pinballs instead of marbles it would have been perfect.
Our 2nd artist is someone who we have featured before and has been with Pintastic NE since the very start, our old friend Maggie the Clown:
As Pintastic has gotten bigger the number of kids have increased so Maggie becomes an even more important part of the show on Saturdays. She still owns the camera every time I see her there.
AI Generated 1st Century Christians eating Bacon Strips
As a rule I don’t trust Grok for anything actually important or for opinions. The one time I did try to trust it to work on a baseball schedule for me it messed it up completely, when I pointed out the mistakes it apologized and made a new schedule with different mistakes till I just said forget it.
However it excels on stuff that isn’t important that can be funny. A few days ago I imagined Mel Brooks as the 2000 year old man explaining how BACON was the actual secret to the rise of Christianity.
Since Mel is actually nearing 2000 years old I figured he wasn’t up to doing it himself and Carl Reiner his straight man is suffering from a chronic case of death I decided that this was a task that Grok could do.
The result wasn’t perfect. Brooks’ 2000 year old man would never used “the interviewer’s” first name and and some of the jokes were a tad repetitive but what Grok spat out was not a bad first draft.
So if you’re curious (and even if you’re not) here it is:
My question to Grok:
based on the original 2000 year old man recordings staring Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks as the 2000 year man give me the script for a 3-6 minute exchange where Reiner questions Brooks on how Christianity ended so popular worldwide despite early persecution with Brooks final conclusion being it was all because of Bacon and how delicious it was.
Here is Grok’s answer unabridged:
Below is a 3-6 minute comedic script inspired by the style of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks’ 2000 Year Old Man recordings. It captures their playful, improvisational dynamic, with Reiner as the straight-man interviewer and Brooks as the ancient, wisecracking 2000 Year Old Man. The exchange focuses on the rise of Christianity despite early persecution, culminating in Brooks’ absurd conclusion that bacon was the key to its success. The dialogue is written to feel spontaneous, peppered with Brooks’ characteristic Yiddish-inflected humor and Reiner’s dry probing, aiming for a runtime of roughly 4-5 minutes when performed at their typical pace.
Carl Reiner (Interviewer):Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I’m here with the 2000 Year Old Man, a man who has lived through centuries of human history. Sir, you’ve seen empires rise and fall, religions come and go. I want to ask you about Christianity. It started as a small movement, heavily persecuted by the Romans, yet it spread across the world. How did it get so popular despite all that opposition?
Mel Brooks (2000 Year Old Man): (in a thick, gravelly Yiddish accent) Oh, Christianity, yeah, yeah, I was there! Persecution, schmecsecution! You wanna know the real story? It’s not what you think, Carl. It wasn’t the sermons, it wasn’t the miracles, it wasn’t even the “love thy neighbor” stuff—although that was a nice touch, very catchy. No, no, no. It was bacon.
Reiner:Bacon? Wait a minute, sir, are you saying—
Brooks:I’m saying bacon, Carl! B-A-C-O-N, bacon! The greatest food ever invented! You ever smell bacon frying? It’s like God himself is whispering in your nose, “Come to the kitchen, bubbeleh, I got something for ya!” That’s what got Christianity going. Forget the catacombs, forget the martyrs—this was a bacon-based operation.
Reiner:But sir, Christianity emerged from Judaism, which strictly forbids eating pork. How could bacon possibly—
Brooks: (interrupting) Forbidden, shmorbidden! Look, I was around, I saw it happen. Early Christians, they’re hiding in caves, they’re dodging lions, they’re whispering about salvation. But then, one day, some Roman convert—probably a guy named Tony, good guy, big schnoz—he says, “Fellas, I know we’re supposed to stick to the rules, but I snuck some bacon from the market.” And he fries it up. The smell, Carl! The smell! It wafted through the cave like a divine revelation. Suddenly, everybody’s like, “Jesus who? Pass the bacon!”
Reiner: (dryly) So you’re suggesting that the early Christians abandoned kosher dietary laws because of bacon?
Brooks:Abandoned? They didn’t abandon nothin’! They said, “Look, if God didn’t want us to eat bacon, why’d He make it so crispy and delicious?” It was a theological breakthrough! They’re sitting there, munching, and one guy—smart fella, probably a rabbi before he switched teams—he says, “This bacon is so good, we gotta spread this religion to everybody!” And that’s when they started proselytizing. They’d go to a village, hold up a strip of bacon, and say, “Join us, and you get this.” Boom! Converts left and right.
Reiner: But sir, the Romans were feeding Christians to lions! Surely bacon wasn’t enough to overcome that kind of persecution.
Brooks:Lions, shmions! You think a lion’s gonna scare a guy who’s tasted bacon? I saw it myself. A Christian gets thrown in the Colosseum, lion’s roaring, crowd’s cheering, and the Christian pulls out a little piece of bacon from his toga. He waves it at the lion—poof! Lion sits down, wags its tail like a puppy. The crowd goes nuts, they all convert on the spot. “We want what he’s got!” they’re yelling. Bacon was the ultimate PR move.
Reiner: (skeptical) So you’re saying the global spread of Christianity—across Europe, Asia, Africa—was driven by… bacon?
Brooks:Absolutely! Look,Carl, you gotta understand human nature. People don’t join a religion for fancy theology or eternal life—that’s all fine, but it’s abstract, it’s meshuggeh. Bacon is real. You bite it, it crunches, it melts in your mouth. By the time Christianity hit Constantinople, they were building churches with bacon stands out front. You think St. Peter’s Basilica got built on prayers alone? No, they had a bacon cart in the square—two strips for a denarius, best deal in Rome!
Reiner:But what about the spiritual aspects? The teachings of Jesus, the apostles, the—
Brooks: (interrupting) Spiritual, shmiritual! I’m telling ya, Carl, the apostles were smart. They knew bacon was their secret weapon. Paul? That guy was the bacon king! He’d walk into a town, preach a little, then hand out bacon samples. People’d say, “This guy’s got the truth—and a side of crispy!” By the time he left, half the town was Christian, and the other half was just waiting for the next bacon shipment.
Reiner: (deadpan) So your final conclusion is that Christianity’s worldwide success is due to bacon?
Brooks:Final conclusion? Carl, it’s the only conclusion! Bacon was the miracle nobody talks about. You wanna know why Christianity beat out the pagans, the Zoroastrians, the whatevers? Because nobody else had bacon. You try converting someone with a bowl of lentils—good luck! Bacon was the game-changer. And let me tell ya, Carl, to this day, every time I smell bacon frying, I think, “Those Christians, they knew what they were doing.” (pauses, dreamily) Mmm… bacon…
Reiner: (sighs) Thank you, 2000 Year Old Man. That’s… certainly a perspective. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be back with more insights from history—or at least, from the kitchen.
With a nod to the Babylon Bee who had the story first:
The Byrds are deservedly one of the most acclaimed rock bands. However, despite their lasting fame and their membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there are several misconceptions about them.
Formed in 1964, the original members were Chicago native Jim McGuinn (lead guitar and vocals)–he later changed his first name to Roger–Gene Clark (tambourine and vocals), David Crosby (rhythm guitar and vocals), Chis Hillman (bass and vocals), and Michael Clarke (drums).
All but Clarke were songwriters.
This is the “classic” lineup. Gene Clark, arguably the band’s principal songwriter in the early days, left the act in 1966, rejoining in 1967, and then he left for good, that is, until he joined the others for the disappointing reunion album, Byrds, in 1973.
Also in 1967, Clark quit again, and Crosby was fired. The latter gained superstar status after co-founding Crosby, Stills, and Nash–later joined by Neil Young.
In 2018’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo Live, recorded with Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives, Hillman remarked that by the time The Notorious Byrd Brothers was finished, he and McGuinn “were the only two Byrds flying around at that time.”
In 1968, a series of members joined, and sometimes left, the Byrds. They are Gram Parsons, Gene Parsons (no relation), John York, Clarence White, and Skip Battin.
Gram Parsons was the most noteworthy new Byrd, contributing two songs to Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and co-writing with McGuinn, “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” which appeared on Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde in 1969. By that time, Parsons and Hillman had left the Byrds, forming the pioneering country rock band the Flying Burrito Brothers. Over the years, Battin, Gene Parsons, and Michael Clarke later became members of the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Parsons, who died in 1973, released two groundbreaking solo albums after leaving the band he cofounded.
The Byrds arguably created not only created the folk rock, but also country rock, and with The Band, they birthed the Americana music genre.
While it was true in the post-Sweetheart era, another misconception is that the Byrds were primarily a McGuinn project. Actually, like the Beatles, in the early days each member, except for Clarke, wrote and sang leads on songs. McGuinn, on the other hand, sang lead on the band’s two biggest hit singles, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” a Bob Dylan song, and “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” a Pete Seeger cover.
McGuinn’s mastery of the 12-string guitar established the Byrds’ trademark sound.
As for Dylan, another misconception is that the Byrds’ creative output, outside of their Dylan covers, was negligible.
That’s absolutely not true.
So here are the rankings of the Byrds 12 studio albums.
12) Byrdmaniax (1971): Terry Melcher, who worked with the Byrds earlier in their career, was behind the boards for this over-produced mess. The Byrds had a hectic touring schedule at the time, the songs don’t have much feeling. Among the better tracks are “”I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician,” “Citizen Kane,” and the oft-covered spiritual “Glory, Glory.”
11) Farther Along (1971): The Byrds chose to self-produce this album and the sound is stripped down. Like Byrdmaniax, the best song is an old spiritual, the title track. “Bugler” and the Vaudeville-esque “”America’s Great National Pastime” standout.
10) (Untitled) (1970): This is a very strange collection. A double album, (Untitled) is half a live LP–the other half our studio tracks. Side two is an insufferable 16-minute long “Eight Miles High.” The studio songs are week, but “Chestnut Mare” is outstanding, it is the only Byrds song from the 1970s that can stand up to their earlier classics.
9) Ballad of Easy Rider (1969): Lots of people probably purchased this album, the top-selling album of the Byrds’ later career, believing it was the soundtrack to the enormously popular Easy Rider film. An acoustic version of the title song appeared on the actual movie soundtrack, sung by McGuinn, and the band’s version is also strong. Three covers, Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos),” Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” and “Jesus Is Just Alright,” which was recorded by the Doobie Brothers in 1972, are memorable.
8) Byrds (1973): The year prior, Creedence Clearwater Revival released its last album, the loathsome Mardi Gras. Dubbed “John Fogerty’s Revenge,” the two other members of the band–John’s brother Tom quit the year before–Fogerty turned the band into a democracy. The far-less talented other members, who has long objected to Fogerty’s dominance, sank CCR’s swan song. Byrds was a reunion of the band’s classic lineup, and this collection could be called David Crosby’s revenge. CSNY was on hiatus and Byrds was produced by Crosby, who believed that his 1960s Byrds’ compositions weren’t given enough respect. Only one of his songs, “Lady Friend,” was released as an A-side single during his first go-around in the band. Byrds, not surprisingly, sounds like a CSNY album. Although McGuinn denies it, the other members of the band, except for Gene Clark, were accused of saving their better compositions for their solo efforts. Crosby’s “Long Live the King” is a stellar track, but it belongs on a CSNY album. Clark’s “Full Circle” is terrific, it’s the opening cut, but it’s downhill from there
7) Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde (1969): With McGuinn being the only founding member of the Byrds left, it was a smart move to have Roger since lead vocals on every track, for continuity. Besides the aforementioned “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” the best cuts are the folk song, “Old Blue,” and a cover of “This Wheel’s on Fire,” which was co-written by Dylan and The Band’s Rick Danko. The original appears on The Band’s Music from Big Pink.
6) Fifth Dimension (1966): From here on in, the output is much more impressive. Shortly after recording of Fifth Dimension began, Clark left the Byrds for the first time. While he’s missed on this effort, there’s some dazzling stuff here, particularly the psychedelic hit “Eight Miles High,” which was written by Clark, Crosby, and McGuinn. The former had a terrible fear of flying. “Mr. Spaceman,” a McGuinn country rock tune, as well as a cover of “Hey Joe,” are the highlights of Fifth Dimension.
5) Younger than Yesterday (1967): McGuinn and Hillman stepped up for this album. The duo co-wrote the often covered single “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” Hillman’s “Have You Seen Your Face” and Dylan’s “My Back Pages” were deservedly given much deserved attention after they were released as singles.
4) Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965): The Byrds’ second album leads off with the soaring title track. There are two Dylan compositions, “The Times They Are a-Changin” and “Lay Down Your Weary Tune.” A cover of an old Porter Wagoner hit, “Satisfied Mind,” presages the Byrds’ later work.
3) Mr. Tambourine Man (1965): The title track on the Byrds’ debut album was a groundbreaking recording, and like “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. There are three other Dylan covers here, including “Chimes of Freedom.” A Clark song, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” sent word that the Byrds weren’t just a covers band.
2) Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968): Although it didn’t sell well initially, Sweetheart is one of the most influential albums ever. There are only two tracks written by a Byrd, both by Gram Parsons, “One Hundred Years from Now” and “Hickory Wind” (co-written by Bob Buchanan). There are two Dylan covers here, including the opening cut, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” Some of the cuts are obscure, such as Cindy Walker’s “Blue Canadian Rockies.” Every song is fantastic.
And now, number 1) The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1967): One of only two early Byrds albums without a Dylan cover, the songwriting brilliance of the McGuinn, Hillman, and Crosby is on full display on The Notorious Byrds Brothers with such songs such as “Old John Robertson” and “Draft Morning.” However, the Byrds weren’t afraid to look elsewhere for great songs. “Goin’ Back” and “Wasn’t Born to Follow” are Carole King and Gerry Goffin compositions. The latter tune figured prominently in Easy Rider.
Time has not been kind to most of the members of the Byrds. Of the many performers who played with the Byrds, only McGuinn, Hillman, Gene Parsons, and John York survive. Some, such as Gene Clark, Michael Clarke, Gram Parsons, succumbed to the rock and roll lifestyle. Crosby, a notorious substance abuser, lived until he was 81. COVID claimed him in 2023.
Albums by the Byrds can be found on Amazon.com and can be downloaded on iTunes.
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