Hey, I'm Walkin' Here!

Transcript

JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: From NPR and WNYC, live from The Bell House in beautiful Brooklyn, N.Y., it's NPR's hour of puzzles, word games and trivia, ASK ME ANOTHER. Here's your host, Ophira Eisenberg.

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OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

Thank you, Jonathan. I miss answering machines. I always thought it was cold to break up with someone over the phone, but you could leave it on your outgoing message, and that was fantastic.

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EISENBERG: Very efficient, especially when you're dealing with a lot of people.

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EISENBERG: But our VIPs use their outgoing message for good, not evil. Fans could call a number, and they would get a song. Our VIPs are familiar faces around here. They might be the band that sings the most famous rock song about the capital of Turkey. They might be my favorite band named after a conditional statement. They Might Be Giants, everybody.

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EISENBERG: Our first game is called Hey, I'm Walking Here. Let's welcome Kimberly Isaacks and Molly Lisenco. You guys are both New Yorkers?

KIMBERLY ISAACKS: I'm from New Jersey.

EISENBERG: You're from New Jersey?

ISAACKS: Yeah (laughter).

EISENBERG: Wow, mild applause for that.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: What's your biggest complaint, Molly, about tourists coming to New York?

MOLLY LISENCO: I don't know if it's a complaint, but the best thing I've ever heard, there was a little kid in front of me on my way to work one day.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

LISENCO: And he stopped his mom. He's like, mom. And she was really annoyed. She's like, what? And he's like, why do they all look up? And I was like, yeah, why do they all look up? And I don't know.

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EISENBERG: So we don't have to look each other in the eye I think is the answer.

LISENCO: Oh, wow.

EISENBERG: Kim, what do you hate that people stereotyped New Jerseyans as?

ISAACKS: I guess when tourists come, they don't actually want to be there.

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EISENBERG: They don't want to go to New Jersey?

ISAACKS: No, but they're there anyway, so... (laughter).

EISENBERG: What, they made a wrong turn?

ISAACKS: Yeah, yeah (laughter).

EISENBERG: They were looking up and didn't see where they were going?

ISAACKS: Yeah, they're always complaining about it, so...

EISENBERG: Really?

ISAACKS: Yeah (laughter).

EISENBERG: OK, well, in New York, pedestrians rule the streets, which is one of my favorite things. You know, we don't walk. It's called advanced walking because it's our transportation. And it also means many of us have been hit by a cab, but thanks to Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy," we know when that happens, you don't say, I'm sorry or make sure everyone's OK. You just punch your hand on the hood of the car and yell, hey, I'm walking here. So in this game, you're going to yell variations of that line. So let's go to our house musician, Jonathan Coulton, for an example.

COULTON: So if we said, mister, you can't put your car in front of that fire hydrant, you'd respond, hey, I'm parking here.

EISENBERG: OK, great. So...

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EISENBERG: ...Your answers will kind of rhyme with the original quote. Ring in when you know the answer and the winner will move on to our Ask Me One More final round at the end of the show. You call yourself a plumber. You're doing a really bad job of applying that bead of silicone around the sink.

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EISENBERG: Kim.

ISAACKS: Hey, I'm caulking here.

EISENBERG: Yeah.

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EISENBERG: I know you wrote the book "A Brief History Of Time," but your theories of the universe are way too long and talk about a bummer ending.

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EISENBERG: Kim.

ISAACKS: Hey, I'm Hawking here.

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EISENBERG: You say you're from Casablanca, but only you're country knows its tangine from its couscous.

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EISENBERG: Kim.

ISAACKS: Hey, I'm Moroccan here.

(LAUGHTER)

EISENBERG: Hey, I'm Moroccan here.

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EISENBERG: Here's looking at Yusef.

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EISENBERG: You must really think you're some kind of Middle-earth wizard, writing one book turned into three movies.

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EISENBERG: Molly.

LISENCO: Hey, I'm Tolkien here.

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EISENBERG: Tolkien.

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EISENBERG: Tough talk from Middle-earth. Just because you played Captain Hook in the TV version of "Peter Pan Live"...

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EISENBERG: ...Doesn't mean you can talk real weird. Oh, yeah, and you know what? Less cowbell.

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EISENBERG: Molly.

LISENCO: Hey, I'm Christopher Walken here.

EISENBERG: There you go.

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EISENBERG: Hey, you, stop standing there staring at me with your mouth wide open.

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EISENBERG: Kim.

ISAACKS: Hey, I'm gawking here.

EISENBERG: Yeah, said every male construction worker ever.

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EISENBERG: All right, this is your last question. I know you wrote the "Newsroom" and "The West Wing," but you don't know normal people. They don't walk and talk fast.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

EISENBERG: Molly.

LISENCO: Hey, I'm Aaron Sorkin here.

EISENBERG: Yeah, you made that all, like, cute about it. Yes, you're correct.

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EISENBERG: Well done. Puzzle guru John Chaneski, how did our contestants do?

JOHN CHANESKI, BYLINE: Well, it was Kimberly who was dominating here. She is going to move on to the Ask Me One More final round at the end of the show. Congratulations.

(APPLAUSE) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.