input: On February 21, 2009, a day after his Los Angeles-based morning radio show was canceled -- as part of a format change at KLSX-FM -- CBS ordered a comedy pilot starring the actor/comedian. Ace in the Hole was to star Carolla as a husband and father who works as a driving instructor. Carolla created and wrote the pilot with Kevin Hench ("Jimmy Kimmel Live!"). Carolla stated that Pamela Adlon was to play his wife and Windell Middlebrooks of the Miller High Life commercial fame will play his best friend. During his March 30, 2009, podcast, Carolla briefly described the show as being "All in the Family, essentially", with Carolla playing a similar role to that of Archie Bunker. On the July 23, 2009, episode of the Adam Carolla Podcast, Carolla announced that CBS was not picking up the pilot for the 2009 season, "in any way, shape or form." On October 22, 2009, it was reported in Variety that Carolla had struck a deal with NBC to produce a half-hour pilot for a sitcom. The report was later confirmed on January 4, 2010, and was the first comedy pilot ordered by NBC for the season. The untitled project, written by Carolla and Kevin Hench, was a single-camera endeavor that starred Carolla as a contractor and father who attempts to rebuild his life after his wife leaves him. Carolla was set to executive produce the NBC project along with frequent collaborators Kimmel and Hench, as well as his agent James "Babydoll" Dixon, Jon Pollack from 30 Rock, Gail Berman, Daniel Kellison, and Lloyd Braun. Universal Media Studios, BermanBraun, and Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel's own Jackhole Industries. On the February 13, 2010 episode of Carolla's CarCast podcast, he broke the news that The History Channel had picked up Top Gear US, which NBC had decided against in 2008. On the March 26, 2010, episode of CarCast, Carolla said that he would not be co-hosting Top Gear US because of scheduling conflicts with his NBC sitcom project. In June 2010, Carolla said that his NBC pilot had not been picked up and was now "dead." Premiering on February 19, 2012, Carolla was also one of the contestants in the 12th season of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice. He was fired in Week 4, because Trump perceived that Carolla did not utilize Andretti's car background during a Buick presentation, even though it was clear that Andretti did not like public speaking.

Answer this question "What did Adam do in 2009?"
output: On October 22, 2009, it was reported in Variety that Carolla had struck a deal with NBC to produce a half-hour pilot for a sitcom.

input: In April 1997, the Flecktones became a quartet again, as they added saxophone player Jeff Coffin to the mix. Coffin would remain in the band from 1997 until 2008. In June 1997, the Flecktones opened for The Dave Matthews Band. In July the Flecktones toured Europe and sat in on the second set of a Phish show in Lyon, France. This marked the second and final time that the Flecktones played with Phish. In June 1998, the Flecktones released their sixth album, and fifth studio album, Left of Cool. Left of Cool represents a switch from previous Flecktones albums, as the band, according to critic Terri Horak "jettisoned their self-imposed rule to only record what could be duplicated on live instruments." In July 2000, the Flecktones released their eighth album, Outbound. Outbound is another studio album, and again the Flecktones' philosophy with this album was to do something different from everything they had done before. What makes Outbound unique is the way in which the Flecktones recorded the album. The quartet recorded each track on the album, then invited guest musicians to overdub vocals or instrumentation. Outbound guests include: Jon Anderson from Yes, Shawn Colvin and John Medeski, of Medeski, Martin and Wood, to name a few. The album earned the Flecktones the Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album that year. Live at the Quick, which was also released as a DVD, is the band's ninth album, and second live album. For fans of live Flecktones, this album, like Live Art, successfully captured the sound and feel of the Flecktones in concert. Little Worlds, the band's tenth album was released on August 12, 2003. Like previous Flecktones' albums, Little Worlds features a slew of musical guests, from Sam Bush on mandolin, Derek Trucks on guitar and even former New York Yankee and guitarist Bernie Williams works his way into a track. Little Worlds was released as a 3-CD album, but for the less committed listener, the band also released Ten From Little Worlds, which includes ten songs off of the original 3-CD Little Worlds. In February 2006, the band released their eleventh album, The Hidden Land. As with every Flecktones album, they needed to change something from their last album. For The Hidden Land, the Flecktones didn't want any guest musicians. "'The truth is, the last few records are not what we are,' Fleck said. 'Obviously, we loved playing with those musicians, but if you keep on doing it, you become a gathering point rather than a group with its own identity.'" For the Flecktones to keep moving forward, they felt their music had to get back to the roots of the quartet. After spending much of the year apart, the Flecktones came together in 2008 to release a holiday album, Jingle All the Way.

Answer this question "Did they ever record an album with guest musicians?"
output: ' Fleck said. 'Obviously, we loved playing with those musicians, but if you keep on doing it, you become a gathering point rather than a group with its own identity.'"

input: Simon's characters are typically portrayed as "imperfect, unheroic figures who are at heart decent human beings", according to Koprince, and she traces Simon's style of comedy to that of Menander, a playwright of ancient Greece. Menander, like Simon, also used average people in domestic life settings, the stories also blending humor and tragedy into his themes. Many of Simon's most memorable plays are built around two-character scenes, as in segments of California Suite and Plaza Suite. Before writing, Simon tries to create an image of his characters. He says that the play, Star Spangled Girl which was a box-office failure, was "the only play I ever wrote where I did not have a clear visual image of the characters in my mind as I sat down at the typewriter." Simon considers "character building" as an obligation, stating that the "trick is to do it skillfully". While other writers have created vivid characters, they have not created nearly as many as Simon: "Simon has no peers among contemporary comedy playwrights," states biographer Robert Johnson. Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue. He reproduces speech so "adroitly" that his characters are usually plausible and easy for audiences to identify with and laugh at. His characters may also express "serious and continuing concerns of mankind ... rather than purely topical material". McGovern notes that his characters are always impatient "with phoniness, with shallowness, with amorality", adding that they sometimes express "implicit and explicit criticism of modern urban life with its stress, its vacuity, and its materialism." However, Simon's characters will never be seen thumbing his or her nose at society."

Answer this question "What does the public think about his characters?"
output:
Simon's characters often amuse the audience with sparkling "zingers," believable due to Simon's skill with writing dialogue.