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David Letterman

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David Letterman
Posted by csmincemoyer on Sunday, April 4, 2010 8:39 PM

Not usually up that late but is Dave picking on us???  On his show Friday night, he named Model Railroading at the Number 1 hobby in America. Bow

BUT...knowing Dave, I'm pretty sure there's a story behind this.  Anyone with any insight?

Thanks

Chris 

 

 

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Posted by SteamFreak on Sunday, April 4, 2010 9:06 PM

 Knowing Letterman, I'm sure it was said with irony.

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Posted by Margaritaman on Sunday, April 4, 2010 9:21 PM

Dave being Dave.  This was one of his random thoughts that I'm sure he found interesting and would get a reaction from the audience.  I'm sure his research team found it and Dave just read it.

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Posted by CNJ831 on Sunday, April 4, 2010 9:53 PM

csmincemoyer

Not usually up that late but is Dave picking on us???  On his show Friday night, he named Model Railroading at the Number 1 hobby in America. Bow

Obviously intended as some sort of a joke (in what context was this statement presented?) for, whereas model railroading was indeed acknowledged as the 2nd most popular hobby in the United States during the mid 1950's (stamp collecting was #1), results of a polling I saw a couple of years ago didn't even have it listed among the top 50 current interests!

CNJ831

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Posted by wm3798 on Sunday, April 4, 2010 10:27 PM

 Maybe Dave bought a train set for little Harry!Smile

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Posted by TMarsh on Sunday, April 4, 2010 11:05 PM

Sounds to me he, and his writers, see Model Railroading as a putzy hobby for railroad geeks that pretend to be real engineers running around say "chooooo choooooo" all the time. Model Railroading is obviously not veiwed as much of a hobby to them, but more as something to be made fun of. Half of them, however probably actually probably like model railroads but just don't want to be made fun of by the ones who will laugh and make fun of them while pretending to be baseball or basketball or football coaches yelling at the TV all dressed up in their little baseball outfits.

Not meant to insult anyone who is a sports fanatic, obviously those here do not slam someone for their choice of hobbies so you are not the ones the remark was directed at. GO RANGERS! This is their year.

Todd  

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I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk. Laugh

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Posted by SteamFreak on Sunday, April 4, 2010 11:18 PM

wm3798

 Maybe Dave bought a train set for little Harry!Smile

Either that, or an intern... Whistling

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Posted by andrechapelon on Sunday, April 4, 2010 11:48 PM

Sometimes an offhand comment is is just an offhand comment just as sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (at least according to Sigmund Freud, but what did he know?).

Man, people read a lot of meaning into the utterly trivial.

That's why I've decided to go into the manufacture of tinfoil hats in multiple scales and become the supplier of choice to the paranoid. I'll become the Apple of metallic headgear. The iHat, an idea whose time has come.

Andre

It's really kind of hard to support your local hobby shop when the nearest hobby shop that's worth the name is a 150 mile roundtrip.
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Posted by tstage on Monday, April 5, 2010 12:06 AM

csmincemoyer
Not usually up that late but is Dave picking on us???  On his show Friday night, he named Model Railroading at the Number 1 hobby in America. Bow

It doesn't make any difference to me.  It's not going to change my involvement in MRRing one iota.  Consequently, I would argue that the #1 "hobby" in America is probably TV watching.

Tom

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Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by markpierce on Monday, April 5, 2010 12:20 AM

David who?

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Posted by dknelson on Monday, April 5, 2010 7:50 AM

Not so many years ago David Letterman's Top 10 list came directly from "the home office in Milwaukee."   Could the guys at Walthers be moonlighting as list makers?

Anyway this is not the first time Letterman has picked on model railroading.  Remember his bit some years ago on special valentine's day cards?  "You May be My Soul Mate, but Touch My Model Railroad and You're Gone."   I wasn't watching but the day after he had that bit on TV any number of people who know I am a model railroader just had to tell me about it.  Whether my wife's friends called to tell her about it I do not know.  I have to admit that's a darn good card.

Dave Nelson

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Posted by St Francis Consolidated RR on Monday, April 5, 2010 8:39 AM

     I don't understand.....what scale does this Letterman fellow model in? Isn't  late night television dominated by poker?

The St. Francis Consolidated Railroad of the Colorado Rockies

Denver, Colorado


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Posted by richhotrain on Monday, April 5, 2010 8:48 AM

csmincemoyer

Not usually up that late but is Dave picking on us???  On his show Friday night, he named Model Railroading at the Number 1 hobby in America. Bow

BUT...knowing Dave, I'm pretty sure there's a story behind this.  Anyone with any insight?

Thanks

Chris 

 

 

There's money to be made here.  You could always write a screenplay about Dave being involved in model railroading, then wait in his parking lot at 6:30 in the morning for him to show up, and then offer to sell him the rights to your screenplay for a couple of mil.

 

 

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Posted by dgwinup on Monday, April 5, 2010 10:35 AM

andrechapelon

Sometimes an offhand comment is is just an offhand comment just as sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (at least according to Sigmund Freud, but what did he know?).

Man, people read a lot of meaning into the utterly trivial.

That's why I've decided to go into the manufacture of tinfoil hats in multiple scales and become the supplier of choice to the paranoid. I'll become the Apple of metallic headgear. The iHat, an idea whose time has come.

Andre

 

Sign me up for a couple of dozen, Andre!

Darrell, quiet...for now
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Posted by Phoebe Vet on Monday, April 5, 2010 11:02 AM

andrechapelon

Sometimes an offhand comment is is just an offhand comment just as sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (at least according to Sigmund Freud, but what did he know?).

Man, people read a lot of meaning into the utterly trivial.

That's why I've decided to go into the manufacture of tinfoil hats in multiple scales and become the supplier of choice to the paranoid. I'll become the Apple of metallic headgear. The iHat, an idea whose time has come.

Andre

They'll sell better if they say "Lipton" on them.

Dave

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Posted by DigitalGriffin on Monday, April 5, 2010 12:22 PM

SteamFreak
Either that, or an intern... Whistling

Must be good!

Must

Resist

commmmmeeeeeennnnntttt

Sooooo

Difffffiicultttt!

Whistling

Any way, I wouldn't worry about it, either way.  I could care less what other's think of my hobby.  I even post pictures of it on my page.  If they want to make fun of it, then they are no friend of mine.

 

Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions

Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!

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Posted by tomikawaTT on Monday, April 5, 2010 12:27 PM

markpierce

David who?

Second the motion.

I don't spend time watching late-night supposed-to-be-funnymen.  That's my most productive forum time!

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

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Posted by ctyclsscs on Monday, April 5, 2010 2:09 PM

THAT DOES IT! I'M NEVER WATCHING HIM AGAIN!

Isn't that we're supposed to say?  : )

At least not tonight because it's a rerun.

Jim

 

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Monday, April 5, 2010 5:11 PM

He's jealous.  He had to give up his favorite "hobby."  Lots of steam, a few whistles and a nice caboose, but in the end all he had was a roundy-round with an F-unit from a different era.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by cudaken on Monday, April 5, 2010 5:33 PM

  He did not say anything bad right? Could it be we are just a little ashamed of our hobby and assume he was making fun of us?

 I did not see the show, but from what I read here I see no reason to assume he was making fun of us.

         Cuda Ken

I hate Rust

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Posted by analog kid on Monday, April 5, 2010 7:24 PM

Why do we care what he thinks? If were happy with our hobby, then that's all that matters.

And personally, i'm more than happy (I got most of my track laid yesterday!!!! YES!!!)

As surely as the day is long, I am the Analog Kid. (Don't believe me? Ask me how many vinyls I listen to in a day...)
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Posted by BATMAN on Monday, April 5, 2010 7:31 PM

 We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday night who are quite high up the show biz food chain. They love trains and have an good size garden RR ready to be unpacked after their move. Anyway they asked if I had heard his comments and I had said "no".  So as we were running trains in the Train Room they mentioned that they heard through the grape vine that he has developed quite an interest in MRR as it is something his son and him can do in the privacy of their home.

He may have said it has become the number one hobby in America because it is now his Number one hobby. Especially now the interns are off the table.Whistling Who knows for sure.

 

                                                             Brent

Brent

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 5, 2010 7:45 PM

 I am fortunate enough not to be acquainted with a person of the name of David Letterman, nor is his show on air where I live. So his opinion on our hobby is of no value or importance to me.

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Posted by jwhitten on Monday, April 5, 2010 8:00 PM

dgwinup

andrechapelon

Sometimes an offhand comment is is just an offhand comment just as sometimes a cigar is just a cigar (at least according to Sigmund Freud, but what did he know?).

Man, people read a lot of meaning into the utterly trivial.

That's why I've decided to go into the manufacture of tinfoil hats in multiple scales and become the supplier of choice to the paranoid. I'll become the Apple of metallic headgear. The iHat, an idea whose time has come.

Andre

 

Sign me up for a couple of dozen, Andre!

 

 

With your metallic headgear you'll be protecting folks against everything from A to Z. Therefore I propose a better, more descriptive name for your aluminum apparel is the AzHat...

Tongue

 

John

Modeling the South Pennsylvania Railroad ("The Hilltop Route") in the late 50's
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Posted by markpierce on Monday, April 5, 2010 8:14 PM

David who?

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Posted by markpierce on Monday, April 5, 2010 8:22 PM

Twerp: a silly, insignificant person.  Fits him well.

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Posted by Packer on Monday, April 5, 2010 8:24 PM

markpierce

David who?

Thirded

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Posted by csmincemoyer on Monday, April 5, 2010 9:35 PM

OK, Like I'm still confused Sigh  I was hoping there were fans of Dave on the board here and could shed some insight on if he was being nice or not.  You can usually tell when he's being "mean" (raises his eyebrow or something, Paul will say something stupid) but that didn't happen.  It was more like he was actually showing us respect, if that makes any sense.  Anywhooo, thought it was cool to here it mentioned.

I wonder if there was an uptick in traffic on the trains.com website this past weekend?

 

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Posted by andrechapelon on Monday, April 5, 2010 9:59 PM

csmincemoyer

OK, Like I'm still confused Sigh  I was hoping there were fans of Dave on the board here and could shed some insight on if he was being nice or not.  You can usually tell when he's being "mean" (raises his eyebrow or something, Paul will say something stupid) but that didn't happen.  It was more like he was actually showing us respect, if that makes any sense.  Anywhooo, thought it was cool to here it mentioned.

I wonder if there was an uptick in traffic on the trains.com website this past weekend?

What difference does it make? It's a freaking late night TV show. Who cares?

Andre

It's really kind of hard to support your local hobby shop when the nearest hobby shop that's worth the name is a 150 mile roundtrip.
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Posted by SteamFreak on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 12:43 AM

BATMAN
So as we were running trains in the Train Room they mentioned that they heard through the grape vine that he has developed quite an interest in MRR as it is something his son and him can do in the privacy of their home

That reminds me that he was good friends with Tom Snyder, who was a big train guy (Lionel, I think), so maybe that sparked an interest. Not that I really care; I haven't watched him since the late 80's when he stopped being funny because he became obsessed with inheriting the Tonight Show.

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