Christopher J. Decicco
- 11
- reviews
- 3
- helpful votes
- 36
- ratings
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Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 348
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 311
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 311
Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely fantastic
- By A. Soergel on 10-11-23
- Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, Beau Bridges, Bill Hader, Bob Weiss, David Zucker, Dick Chudnow, Hunt Lowry, James Murray, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jimmy Kimmel, Joe Praino, full cast
A great story behind the story
Reviewed: 11-04-23
Not just funny, but also inspiring, and a great encouragement to stick to your guns and keep your eyes on your dreams.
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Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets
- An Audible Original
- By: John Woolf, Nick Baker
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 18,634
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,887
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Story4 out of 5 stars 16,824
On the surface, the Victorian age is one of propriety, industry, prudishness and piety. But scratch the surface and you’ll find scandal, sadism, sex, madness, malice and murder. Presented by Stephen Fry, this series delves deep into a period of time we think we know, to discover an altogether darker reality. The stories we’re told offer a different perspective on an era which underwent massive social change. As education, trade, technology and culture blossomed, why was there an undercurrent of the ‘forbidden’ festering beneath Victorian society?
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2 out of 5 stars
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Why the background noises?
- By Candace Russell on 11-04-18
- Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets
- An Audible Original
- By: John Woolf, Nick Baker
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
Fun and educational
Reviewed: 06-26-23
A great effort, appealing in every way. A wonderful balance of education and entertainment. I’d recommend to any lover of history.
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Hi Honey, I'm Homo!
- Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture
- By: Matt Baume
- Narrated by: Matt Baume
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 121
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Story5 out of 5 stars 121
From flamboyant relatives on Bewitched to closely-guarded secrets on All in the Family, from network-censor fights over Soap to behind-the-scenes activism on the set of The Golden Girls, from Ellen’s culture clash to Modern Family’s primetime power-couple, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!
- By Sage on 07-14-23
- Hi Honey, I'm Homo!
- Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture
- By: Matt Baume
- Narrated by: Matt Baume
A Vital Experience
Reviewed: 06-16-23
This was all I could ever hope it could be. Profoundly educational and also a simultaneous romp down memory lane. Meticulously researched and comprehensive, but also entertaining, fun, and with a big heart. It’s a great lens through which to understand the slow but significant changes in our culture.
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2 people found this helpful
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In the Closet of the Vatican
- Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy
- By: Frederic Martel
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 182
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 160
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Story4 out of 5 stars 161
In the Closet of the Vatican is a fascinating description and evaluation of financial, sexual and political misconduct throughout the Catholic Church at a time when new revelations are being uncovered each and every week. This audiobook explores the underlying causes and includes interviews with numerous Cardinals and other individuals, some of whom cannot be named. Martel reveals financial scandals in the Vatican bank; political collusion with unsavoury regimes, including Castro’s Cuba and Pinochet’s Chile; sexual abuse and hypocrisy over homosexuality.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Heartbreaking
- By L.Lovelace on 10-30-20
- In the Closet of the Vatican
- Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy
- By: Frederic Martel
- Narrated by: John Banks
Gripping and well researched
Reviewed: 05-29-23
An engaging true-to-life tale of modern heroes and mostly villains. It has a daunting task of sharing a dizzyingly complex web of characters. It’s easy to get intimidated by the complexity and the large cast of people.
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Spare
- By: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
- Narrated by: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 71,806
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 66,257
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Story5 out of 5 stars 66,049
It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Gutterball!
- By Jimmyjoejangles on 01-10-23
- Spare
- By: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
- Narrated by: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
Powerful, Emotional
Reviewed: 03-03-23
There were so many times I was moved to tears with this strong and very human story. So many visceral moments of tragedy and death as well as deep love and romance. Brutally honest and deeply moving.
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All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,264
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,752
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3,738
At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful and nostalgic
- By GAT on 12-07-21
- All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
A Hero for us All
Reviewed: 09-02-22
This man is a treasure. He’s the grandfather I wish I had. Listening to his stories, his failures and successes, were all deeply moving, inspiring, thrilling, and—above all—funny.
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Dreamer of Dune
- The Biography of Frank Herbert
- By: Brian Herbert
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Everyone knows Frank Herbert’s Dune. One of the most popular science fiction novels ever written, it has become a worldwide phenomenon, winning awards, selling millions of copies around the world. Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert’s eldest son, tells the provocative story of his father’s extraordinary life in this honest and loving chronicle. He has also brought to light all the events in Herbert’s life that would find their way into speculative fiction’s greatest epic.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Herbert Was a Not a Nice Man
- By Gilbert M. Stack on 07-15-22
- Dreamer of Dune
- The Biography of Frank Herbert
- By: Brian Herbert
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
A deeply moving real-life story
Reviewed: 08-18-22
There is a technical distraction in this recording—the alternating timbres of the reader’s voice between different sets of recordings. This is very weak, and should be entirely re-recorded with a single microphone location. Otherwise, this is a deeply moving biography, as much the author’s autobiography as his father’s story. I’ll be relistening at some point.
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1 person found this helpful
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Language Families of the World
- By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,049
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,790
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,774
Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University takes you back through time and around the world, following the linguistic trails left by generations of humans that lead back to the beginnings of language. Utilizing historical theories and cutting-edge research, these 34 astonishing lectures will introduce you to the major language families of the world and their many offspring, including a variety of languages that are no longer spoken but provide vital links between past and present.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining
- By Mark on 02-10-19
- Language Families of the World
- By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
Making Joy out of a Complex Topic
Reviewed: 05-02-22
McWhorter is a pleasure to listen to. He’s aware that education is always half entertainment, and he knows how to entertain with his words, stories, and personality in the most delicious ways. He managed to pack a massive amount of information into 16 short hours and let it be magical.
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No Walls and the Recurring Dream
- A Memoir
- By: Ani DiFranco
- Narrated by: Ani DiFranco
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 583
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 523
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Story5 out of 5 stars 522
In her new memoir, No Walls and the Recurring Dream, Ani DiFranco recounts her early life from a place of hard-won wisdom, combining personal expression, the power of music, feminism, political activism, storytelling, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and much more into an inspiring whole. In these frank, honest, passionate, and often funny stories is the tale of one woman's eventful and radical journey to the age of 30.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A lovely peek under the hood
- By Tobin on 05-14-19
- No Walls and the Recurring Dream
- A Memoir
- By: Ani DiFranco
- Narrated by: Ani DiFranco
A Complete Joy
Reviewed: 04-25-22
I was engaged and immersed fully for every word, every sentence. I’m enthralled by how this captured such a potent dose of humanity, so much life, wisdom, memory and philosophy, in merely 12 hours of listening. I’m ready to listen to it again right away, and I deeply hope there’ll eventually be a part two.
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The Wisdom of the Desert with Nicholas Buxton
- By: Nicholas Buxton, Wise Studies
- Narrated by: Nicholas Buxton
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
The course begins by looking at the origins of Christian monasticism during the third century CE, when thousands of men and women renounced the world and withdrew to the deserts of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine to seek God in a life of solitude and prayer. What inspired them to do this? What were they trying to achieve? In seeking answers to these questions, we will examine the lives and sayings of the so-called "desert fathers", with a particular emphasis on the theological writings of Evagrius of Pontus (c. 345-399).
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5 out of 5 stars
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When the Student is Ready
- By Douglas Scott Miller on 12-10-21
Not what I was hoping for
Reviewed: 04-13-22
I thought this would be more of an historical and academic study of the day-to-day lives of 4th century monks. Instead it’s a dreary mind loop of Christian thought processes with a brutally slow and painful performance delivery. It felt like the narrator was reading each word or clause separately, as if it was totally disconnected from the previous word or phrase. So many stilted gaps and pauses were torturous to listen to. This could’ve been 20% shorter if the sentences were performed as if they actually flowed together.
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