So, Lino is in California and Fr. Rob in New York, and the 5th Anniversary party is underway thanks to the "magic of technology" as Lino likes to say. (I couldn't believe I heard Fr. Rob say that today!)

As I listened to Lino interviewing that lucky listener Regina today, I found myself reflecting on my own "first experience" with the Catholic Guy. (no Hey Oh necessary).

About two years ago, we relocated to Birmingham from a small town in Mississippi due to a job change for my husband. After finding a job, I was faced with a longer work commute for the first time in many years. My car had XM and I heard a commercial for the Catholic Channel on another channel. I decided to give it a try and tuned in on the way home.

Much to my surprise, I heard this crazy guy playing a game with a listener that afternoon. Once I got over the initial shock that someone was having fun on a Catholic show, I began to really connect.

It was "Win Lou's Money," and Lino was asking the caller whether or not Ash Wednesday was a Holy Day of Obligation. Of course, the caller said "Yes," and of course I was screaming at the radio, "No, you big dummy, it's not!" I was hooked.

I have listened to Lino every day I could since then. I have listened to every podcast of the Catholic Guy Show that is available, and am in the process of listening to every "Lino at Large" podcast there is. I read and enjoyed "Sinner" and love being a Facebook Fan and a Twitter follower. I dream of going on a Pilgrimage, and love blogging on this crazy blog. (Thanks, Dustin). I probably have 20 friends on Twitter and Facebook that I did not have before because of the Catholic Guy Show. I am learning the true meaning of our universal church.

So thanks, Lino. (And Fr. Rob and Ryan) Happy Anniversary!

Who knew listening to somebody humming could be so much fun?

I have never heard Lino laugh as hard as he did during the segment when people had to guess what Fr. Rob was humming. I don't think I have ever laughed that hard either. If Fr. Rob humming wasn't funny enough, Lino and Ryan laughing in the background was even funnier to me.

Fr. Rob literally cannot "carry a tune in a bucket", as we like to say down South. But that doesn't stop him from trying, and being a good sport about it, too. God has endowed him with great intelligence, a knack for theology, a love for Jesus and an incredible wit. He just has no talent for anything musical. God works like that. He gives us great talent for certain things so we can use it to his glory, and leaves us out on others. I like to think God plans it that way to keep us humble.

I couldn't call in when the segment was going on, so I posted on Lino's Facebook that I "pray to God he doesn't have 'The Hallelujah Chorus' on his iPod." Lino replied, "Believe me, he doesn't." (I guess we can thank God for small favors.)

I just had one more thought. I wonder how many songs Fr. Rob does have on his iPod?

Thomas Peters of CatholicVote.com takes on Lino Rulli ... Click here to see the Papist Magazine interview ...  And wow, awesome picture of Lino.  Ladies, be warned.

Lino sounded a bit out of sorts a couple of times last week. I was a little worried about him.

He talked a good bit about his frustration around going with the Catholic publisher as opposed to a "secular" publisher (otherwise known as a publisher). Lino told of how on a Saturday night, he had gone to Barnes and Noble and a couple of other bookstores to look on the shelves for "Sinner" only to find it was not available.

His frustration was evident as he wondered aloud if it had been a good idea to take this path and kind of pave the way for other Catholic writers. I took it upon myself to remind him (on Facebook) that all "pioneers" and "trail blazers" struggled, to which he replied, "Thanks for the support, but it is still annoying."

Later that week, he mused (on Facebook) about whether or not he would always be an "outsider" and whether or not that was a bad or a good thing. I personally hope is stays an "outsider." I don't want him to be any different than he is. I want him to continue being a trail blazer and a pioneer in Catholic media. He has done more through his work in Catholic media to bring people back into the church and strengthen the faith of those of us who were practicing our faith, than even he knows.

So, Lino! You play Billy Joel songs for your Saturday night concerts-You do song parodies for us so, how about this? (Cheesy, but fun).

"Don't go changing to try and please us
You never let us down before
Don't imagine you're too familiar
And we don't see you anymore

We would not leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
We took the good times, we'll take the bad times
We'll take you just the way you are."

Lino Rulli is unashamed of his love of Howard Stern.

In any other circle, this isn't a big deal. So you like Howard, big deal? It doesn't make you bad or good, it's just something you listen to. But for some reason, his vocal support of Stern's show gets everybody all riled up.

On a recent Howard 100 News, Lino said that he has had speaking gigs cancelled after the event-planners found out about his admiration for the king of the airwaves. I found this a little shocking and a little sad: Why is Howard Stern such a lightning rod? If I was going to cancel one of Lino's speaking engagement, I'd do it because he likes Family Guy.

That said, I have a huge amount of respect for Lino Rulli's honesty. It's one of the reasons I started listening to him in the first place: a Christian radio host that was actually honest for a change. It was unheard of in my life. Growing up, I was used to hearing people focus on other people's faults and misgivings. For someone to freely admit that they are a sinner and that screwing up isn't some event delegated to the past, well, that just takes the cake.

Lino Rulli is one of those radio hosts you couldn't quit listening to even if you tried. It isn't just the big things that he's good at: Lino is amazing at the little things. For instance, you don't hardly ever hear him hang up on a caller. Other shows, after the caller makes a point, hang up on the person while the host reacts to whatever statement is made. Lino, on the other hand, actually takes the time to say goodbye to most people, and tells them   "Call in anytime."

You could make a case, by the way, that line is probably the show's catchphrase: It's said on a regular basis.

Before I started listening to Lino, I didn't really have any aspirations of becoming a writer or blogging or anything like that. Sure, I worked at a newspaper doing page design when I started listening to Lino, but Lino has inspired me to use my God-given abilities for the betterment of Christianity. I started listening to Lino, and thought, 'Here's a guy who uses Media to help spread the love of God in his own unique way. Why can't I at least try doing that?

I'm not saying that my talents are on par with Lino's: He's light years ahead of me in that regard. What I am saying is that Lino showed me that we all have talents that God has blessed us with, and that we shouldn't just rest on our laurels hoping that one day, they'll magically appear and flourish all on their own. Lino taught me that when you do something for the glory of God, you shouldn't half-ass it. God deserves better than some half-hearted attempt at Christian radio, TV, blogging etc.

God is amazing, and our level of dedication to our individual crafts should reflect just how much we love and respect Him.

I made a similar statement a few days ago on this blog, but I'll say it again. While Lino has Howard Stern to thank for getting into radio, I have Lino to thank for getting into blogging about my faith, and hopefully I become successful at that. Because of Lino, I was able to meet Fr. Jim Chern and start designing the campus bulletin for his Newman Center. This is my fourth school year doing that, and it's a wonderful experience. And best of all, because of Lino I met my wife and am expecting my first child.


OK, maybe he's not this inspirational, but he still rocks

For me, Lino Rulli is my Howard Stern: an influential, honest and damn entertaining radio pioneer dedicated to making the best show in the world. And like Howard Stern, Lino succeeds beyond any of our wildest expectations.

Thank you Lino Rulli.

***********UPDATE 6/1/11 Lino is back on the air today and cannot discuss the 'bad news' for two weeks due to legal restrictions.  We are thankful, because that sounds to us like no one in his life has passed away which was our primary concern. We continue to pray for Lino******************

According to Facebook Lino received some bad news yesterday.
We've been asked if we have any additional information, and I am sorry to report that the LinoFans know nothing more than that.

We will be praying for Lino in whatever he is going through.
May the Grace of God be with him and the Will of God be done.

As I've stated in a previous post, I now work a noon to nine shift (hopefully not long), so my listening to Lino has been severely crumpled. Most afternoons I sneak out on my lunch break and listen to Lino for an hour in the car.

It's nice that I can do that, but there are some days when the walk to the car just doesn't feel worth it. All I wanna do is relax, and I've gotta walk across the parking lot in the bitter cold to sit in a car without heat for an hour? Yikes!

So earlier in the week, I decided to stay inside. Listening to Lino would have to wait until late at night on the replay. So I stayed inside and enjoyed my turkey sandwich with the company of heat.

At the end of my evening, I go to my car and discover that I left the lights on. My battery is dead, it's raining, and nobody is around to jump start it for me. So I had to wait for a half hour for my wonderful bride-to-be to come help me jump it.

This episode made me realize something: If I had sacrificed for Lino like he sacrifices for us each day, I wouldn've had that problem. I could have seen that the lights were on at 4:30, turned them off, and I would have had enough battery life to turn my car on at the end of work.

Let this be a lesson to you: Not listening to Lino can be disastrous for you and your car. I highly recommend you never do it.

I think in order to appreciate something, it has to be taken away from you.

Yeah hamburgers are great. You know when they are really great? On Fridays of Lent. That ex-girlfriend of yours? Her cooking was always good, but now that she's left you for the college mascot, her cooking is to die for.

The point is, I don't think that we take time to thank God for things we have in life until they're gone. And for years, I've been blessed to have jobs where I could listen to The Catholic Guy Show while at work, or leave work in time to hear the rest of the show. In fact, I think I've missed four shows (not counting original shows I've missed but caught the replay) since March 2008.

A nice track record. One that might be harder to keep now that I have a new call center job. Yup, I now work from noon until nine p.m., with an hour lunch break. No listening to the radio at all from my job, so I have to wait until lunch to catch the show, usually from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., while sitting in my car.

Not being able to listen to Lino for three straight hours like I used to sucks. When lunch is wrapping up, he'll usually be promoting something he's doing later in the show, and I'll think to myself, "Damnit this job sucks!!! I'm missing the greatest show in the world!" True, I'm able to listen to full replays on the weekend, and I have Thursday off of work so I can listen to the whole thing (and do my best to live blog it), but still, it's just not the same anymore.

If anyone can help me find a graphic design position somewhere, please help me! It would be nice to do a job that I'm pretty damn good at, and it would be nice to hear more than an hour of Lino each day.

Dear Lino,

Your increased facebook activity has me excited and concerned. I have a few theories why it has happened...


1. After resigning your online dating to Lou and Maureen you have a lot more free time.
2. After hiring a cleaning lady you have a lot more free time.
3. Your spiritual director finally got it through that all this one sided affection from your fans is unhealthy for your pride and encouraged you to become more engaged bringing you down to a reasonable level of bloated self worth.
4. You got bored and figured facebook was just sitting there why not get into the action.
5. You realized that by responding and becoming engaged in the conversation your fans would be more adoring and therefore build up your inflated sense of self.
I am incredibly happy you have gotten in on the action. After all, we enjoy your witty banter and getting a little on facebook just makes us want it more ;)
I don't want it to stop; I just want you to know we’ve noticed.
God Bless Ya Brother
Always,
Ambassador Allicia

*check out the cool Catholic buttons and shirts at www.agnusgiftshop.com

In the words of Austin Powers, "Allow myself to introduce...myself."

Vacation... That is where Lino and crew are this week-when we are at home, working, slaving away to earn the twenty bucks for our Sirius XM radios.

An important note for all listeners. BLAME LOU AND MAUREEN! That's right, we all know how much Lino likes to vacation, but this one is all on the producers... Lou and Maureen both had scheduled this week off for themselves forcing the show to take the week off. I think Lino is great, but if he were left with no producers the show would be lots of talking to himself and being the only one laughing at his jokes. No Lou"Board Master" Ruggieri to hit the Laugh Track... sad, sad, sad. No Maureen "Smarter than a Bad Catholic" McMurray to throw under the bus... sad, sad, sad.

Maureen said on Facebook that she will be spending her time off in Mexico. Lou is probably catching up on his sleep since he works 14 jobs. Lino is in Peru with Brett getting lost I am sure. I hope they get a nice break full of relaxation and rejuvenation, 'cause I expect them to be full-on, back-at-it, when they return.

I also expect cool souvenirs- Key Chain, Magnet, the tackier the better.. YOU HEAR ME? Ok, so I won't get any cool presents because, well, who wants to lug something back from vacation for family let alone a practical stranger... but a girl can dream!

Have fun Catholic Guy Crew, wherever you are this week. The Fans will just have to survive without you for a week. It will be a week of "Best Of" shows but we all know a Best Of The Catholic Guy Show is better than NO Catholic Guy Show.

I know many of us look for alternate radio stations when a replay is one we have heard before. Remember to check the Catholic Channel (sirius 159/xm117) before switching in case it is one you haven't heard... OR it is the one when Heather, dustin and I were in studio (No one should miss that!) You never know when you will catch a little Catholic Guy Replay Love. If you find the replay is one you don't want to listen to I would recommend The Message, Classic Vinyl, The Blend, or The Highway (being some of my favorites)...

We should all say a little prayer of thanksgiving that The Catholic Channel is smart enough not to play Gus Lloyd in TGCS spot when they are away! Yes, I encourage you all to pray for this.


With a wink and a smile,
;)Ambassador Allicia

A poll at Catholic Match asks it's visitors if Lino Rulli will find his future spouse (why didn't they just say wife? Seems like a very subtle dig).


The good news is that the top two responses are "Yes without a doubt" and "Probably, but it's going to be hard." Since I'm not a member, I can't vote, but I would have chosen Yes without a doubt by default (the poll leaves out the possibility that Lino will find a wife on another Catholic dating web site).


And since the poll is riddled with people taking shots at Lino, we here at Catholicguyshow.com are going to return the favor and take shots back. Why not? If they do it in good fun, then what's wrong with us doing it in good fun as well?


• Rosemarie says "Well the question would be.....Do "we" need to meet Lino?" Hey Rosemarie, what's with the quotes around "we?" Terrible use of the quotation marks. A better use would have been, "I find Rosemarie "attractive."


• Clay writes, "Well, Most jocks have an atttttude..so he will haveto get over that .." Clay, you've just proved that most jocks have a problem with spelling.  Good God man, how many t's does attitude really need?


• Tiffany says, "I'm not really sure who he is but I voted anyway!:P" We'll give you a pass Tiffany. Go get yourself a Sirius radio and tune into the best radio show in the world!


• And finally, Nancy writes, "I don't think so." Yep, way to judge a man's soul without getting to know him. Is Nancy attractive? "I don't think so." Will Nancy find a date? "I don't think so, she'll grow old with her cats instead."


Some people were nice. One person wrote "God bless you and your discernment." And Michelle writes,
"What a FUUUUUUUUN challenge!!! HA HA HA HA HA...I am going to be curious to see the outcome of this one!!! Read his profile...he definitely has a great personality and sense of humor!!!"


Mad props Michelle. You will be blessed someday for sure.


I do apologize, but it seems that some of these pot-shots were not done with any kind of charity, just people being mean for the fun of it. And if you can't get encouragement at a Catholic web site, where can you get it?


I pray for Lino every day. He'll definitely find a mind-blowing woman to call a wife someday. 


Can't wait to thumb that in the nose of the haters.

The fact that this is even a topic on the Catholic Guy Show is a testament to the universality of Catholicism, and the fact that fried bologna sandwiches taste so good is a testament to God's greatness.

Maybe Maureen can bring some on her first day back for Lino to sample and enjoy.

Lino Rulli went fishing, which is why all of us suffered through replays this week (although they were solid episodes).

Anyways, I found this pic. Apparently Lino caught more than fish this weekend...he caught miniature program director Ron Astorino!

Who else would post this?

FakeLino@jenniferwillits Happy Birthday! Treat yourself and buy my Emmy award-winning DVD! http://linorulli.com (Buy two to double the fun!)

Who else self-promotes more than Lino?

Posting has been slow this week. I wonder why.

A song parody for Lino then to pass the time (with apologies to Willie Nelson)




On the Show Again
(as might be sung by Lino)

On the show again
Just can't wait to get on the show again
Talkin' Catholic stuff with folks who just might be my friends
And I can't wait to get on the show again


On the show again
Saying why we all need to go to Mass again,
Hear another guest mistake my big nose for my chin
And I can't wait to get on the show again.

On the show again
We start on Monday and work our way to Friday
Will this ever end?
I want more money but Ron won't see it my way
And my way
Is on the show again
Let's make a road trip back to Rome again
Where wine is flowing and handsome women are my friends
And I *can* wait to get on the show again

On the show again
We start on Monday and work our way to Friday.
Will this ever end?
I wish would God take me up to Heaven His way
But I know God's way
Is on the show again

The Good Lord wants me on the show again
Taking calls and minting more new Catholic friends
And I can't wait to get on the show again
And I can't wait to get on the show again

I was listening to the show in a huge thunderstorm yesterday. So lucky my computer didn't blow up. And with the rain and thunder cracking, it made me think of that violent song by Eminem called Stan. Mostly Dido singing though.

Anywho, after hearing Lino's Dilemma about staying on the radio, doing something else with his life, etc., I thought it'd be cool to put his voice in an instrumental version of Stan. Have Dido singing the chorus, but instead of Eminem rapping, we've got Lino talking. I think it gives a slightly beautiful/haunting vibe. I thought him talking was one of the most honest moments he's ever had on the radio, and I think the music in the background amplifies this. I wouldn't call it a song parody though, as it's not really meant to be funny and Lino isn't singing. But it still kinda is funny in a way.

I edited the conversation down to fit the slightly extended song so that Lino would actually tell a story in the song, with a nic surprise ending. I really hope you enjoy this: I stayed up until 4 a.m. to get this done.

It'd be a real kick if they played this on the show today, but since it is 8 minutes long, I'm kinda thinking they won't. But at least it is here on Catholicguyshow.com for your own enjoyment. Hope you like it!

P.S. Due to the music, Youtube disabled the audio on this, so I'm uploading it to here instead. Sorry that the text is unreadable, but it's mostly just filler. The song does it all.

Lino asked to have this posted. I don't quite know why, but OK.



From facebook:

Lino posted:

Lino Rulli is going to sleep. If I die before I wake, my only regret is not getting to meet Burt Reynolds.

Bill at 9:32pm April 18 responded:


Lino got a kick out of this.

Live blogging...

1st song: Lino took some water, and whistled. Man, he should open up a deli,
because he really butchers these songs. He took some more water, but I
really couldn't tell the difference.

Hints from Lino: It's a song from the 70s.

Also, the phones and computers are dead.

Ooooh. I think it's a message from God about Lino's whistling.

Lou: "Awkward."