Beer and Conversation Podcast

The boys drink and review Brooklyn Brewery’s Sunny Pale Ale, then discuss Star Wars and the enduring influence of the hero’s journey.

The Star Wars movies struck quite a chord with the public. On the one hand, it seems like silly kid’s stuff. On the other hand, Pigweed’s literature professors referred to Star Wars as a classic example of the hero pattern, or quest journey.

The lives of Jesus, Moses, King Arthur, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, and many others follow a very similar pattern.

Their stories follow a very predictable pattern that includes the call to adventure, resistance to the call, the role of the mentor, facing a challenge, winning the prize, then bringing that achievement back to the people.

There are other background elements to the life of the hero, like a suspicious birth, the absense of parents, some connection to royalty and maybe divinity.

Star Wars follows this myth in each individual episode, and across episodes.

Some people have said that Star Wars has abandoned this pattern in the newest iteration of Star Wars — the Acolyte. Others have gone so far as to suggest that The Acolyte has turned the entire myth on its head.

Pigweed and Crowhill discuss the role of this pattern, and then, with some help from a letter from Nephew Will, evaluate some of the radical claims about The Acolyte.

P&C drink and review a summer ale, then discuss OnlyFans.

The OnlyFans site serves as a medium for paid content. It’s not only about sex. It can be used by artists, musicians, authors, and so on. But it’s largely about sex.

There are some possible benefits for women who choose to do “sex work” on OnlyFans. There are no pimps. They can set their own boundaries. They’re at less risk for STDs. And it’s possible (but unlikely) they’ll make a lot of money.

The potential benefits are far outweighed by many negatives.

Once a woman has agreed to do this work, she’s lost an important part of her dignity, and it’s hard to go back. Women who do OnlyFans will start to think “oh well, I guess I’m this kind of girl now.”

While women can set their own boundaries — choose “how far they will go” — they will be constantly pressured to do more.

The woman who does this kind of work on OnlyFans becomes a sexual object, and she will be treated that way. Sexual harassment is part of the job, and it gets very ugly. You’re no longer a person. You’re a product that exists to satisfy strangers sexually. It’s dehumanizing.

Stalkers are a real problem.

There is a false sense of privacy, since the content is allegedly behind a paywall and only available to “fans.” But it won’t stay private. People will find a way to download it and post it for free on the Internet. Everyone will be able to see it.

A woman’s future plans for career and family will be negatively affected by participating in OnlyFans, and it will affect the woman’s ability to be intimate with a real person.

Time as an OnlyFans star is very limited. There’s an endless stream of younger, hotter women ready to step up, and OnlyFans models in value as they age.

Some women might believe this is a ticket to easy money and a chance to find a rich mate, but that’s a delusion. High-value men don’t want to date sex workers, and no decent man wants to share his wife.

Also, it’s already hard enough to get married.

The promises of OnlyFans are a delusion — except for the very few who make a lot of money, but they’ve sold their soul in the bargain.

In addition to the negative effect on women, OnlyFans has a negative effect on society. It normalizes sex work, lowers the collective morality of society, and traps young women in a dead-end career.

Agenda 47 is a series of policy initiatives Trump intends to enact if elected. In the telling of one hair on fire liberal commentator, Agenda 47 includes …

• massive deportation
• death sentence for human trafficking
• close the deptartment of education
• put prayer in school
• close race-based advantage programs
• end the affordable care act
• ban gender affirming care for adults and children
• term limits for congress
• investigate the Biden crime family
• pardon Jan 6ers
• increase juvenile sentences, strengthen immunity for police, deploy national guard in woke cities
• reassess NATO
• Muslim travel ban
• create freedom cities
• end federal EV mandates
• drill for gas and oil domestically
• increase tariffs on Chinese goods
• extend 2017 tax cuts
• extend the right to concealed carry
• get Europe to pay back money we gave to Ukraine
• remove federal subsidies from woke Universities

The boys review each of these items to determine if they’re as scary as the frightened liberals imagine.

They also discuss Joe Biden’s debate meltdown and what might happen next for Democrats.

P&C start the show by drinking and reviewing Eliot Ness Amber Lager from Great Lakes Brewing Company.

Join us in this episode as we delve into the fascinating world of relativity, exploring the groundbreaking work of Albert Einstein. We cover both special and general relativity, discussing the profound implications these theories have on our understanding of space, time, and the universe. Whether you’re a physics enthusiast or just curious about the cosmos, this episode offers insightful explanations and thought-provoking discussions.

With special guest Longinus, Pigweed and Crowhill start the show with a review of a famous Belgian beer.

With literary contributor Longinus, the boys drink and review Furious George Hefeweizen from Crooked Crab Brewing, then continue their “shortcut to the classics” series with The Time Machine.

After a brief biography and sense of Wells’ historical setting, the boys review the plot, then give their analysis.

The story follows the journey of an unnamed protagonist, referred to as the Time Traveller, who invents a machine capable of traveling through time. He demonstrates the machine to a group of friends and then embarks on a journey to the distant future.

The Time Traveller arrives in the year 802,701 AD, where he encounters two distinct species: the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are gentle, childlike people who live above ground in a seemingly idyllic society, but they are frail and lack intellectual curiosity. The Morlocks, on the other hand, are sinister, nocturnal creatures who live underground and maintain the machinery that supports the Eloi’s lifestyle.

As the Time Traveller explores this future world, he realizes that the Eloi are not the dominant species but are actually prey for the Morlocks. The novel delves into themes of social class and evolution, suggesting a grim future for humanity.

The story culminates with the Time Traveller narrowly escaping the Morlocks and returning to his own time, only to disappear again on another journey, leaving his ultimate fate unknown. The novel ends with a sense of mystery and contemplation about the future of humanity and the possibilities of time travel.

The boys drink and review Southern Cross ESB from M8 Beer Company, then go through reader questions and comments.

Questions include …

• Why aren’t there more women in dangerous jobs, and should they be if we really want equity?
• Does dating a trans woman make you gay?
• More on cats vs. dogs
• In your show on evolution you casually dismissed creationists. What’s up?
• A reprise of the pendulum show. Are things shifting towards conservatism?
• Have people had enough with mass immigration, but here and in Europe?
• Do we really have government of, by, and for the people?
• Is “Memories of my meloncholy whores” representative of Marquez in general since it does not include magical realism.
• Did you notice that Marquez did not use quotation marks to designate speech?
• Did the news covering racism cause the George Floyd madness, or did the George Floyd madness cause the news to cover racism?
• We had a suggestion for a show on the poison of victimhood.
• Why did we give any credence at all to that woman-hating Pearl Davis?
• Why are you such mean bigots towards the LGBTQ community?

P&C drink and review Little Mac IPA from Antietam Brewing then discuss the downward slide of a famous scientific magazine that was founded before the American Civil War!

It would be nice to have a reliable standard to find out what’s actually going on in the scientific world. Scientific American magazine used to be that. Recently it’s gone woke, and now it’s no longer that beacon of scientific judgment.

Some signs of their recent wokeness.

* Michael Shermer’s column was rejected because it might hurt someone’s feelings.
* Scientific American slandered E.O. Wilson with a woke diatribe.
* They promote the transgender nonsense.
* They have claimed that football is racist, and and that denial of evolution is white supremacy.
* They want federal oversight of homeschooling.

The revered old magazine has gone too far to the left and has fallen off the woke end of the spectrum. Steven Pinker tweeted: “Unscientific American | Another noble American institution run into the ground when clueless trustees handed over the keys to a woke fanatic.”

P&C drink and review Extra Strong Boi Imperial ESB from Black Flag Brewing, then discuss the curse of the smart phone.

Can grown adults stand in line at the Post Office any more without being distracted by some electronic device?

The boys review some of the history of electronic devices in our lives, then talk about the perils of the modern state, where everyone is connected all the time.

Jonathan Haidt identifies several problems with smart phones.

Social Deprivation — Smartphones act as experience blockers, reducting time spent in physical play or face-to-face interactions, which are crucial for healthy social development.

Sleep Deprivation — Excessive use of smartphones, especially late at night, leads to insufficient sleep, further exacerbating mental health issues.

Attention Fragmentation — Constant notifications and messages interrupt focus, making it difficult for teenagers to concentrate on tasks.

Addiction — Apps and social media platforms are designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities, making them addictive and detracting from real-world experiences.

If you’re getting your social interaction from your phone, you’re not getting it from in-person interactions, and that’s a shame. We’ve reduced the richness of real interactions for a cheap substitute.

P&C encourage adults to find ways to stay off their phones, and for God’s sake don’t let your kids get addicted to them.

The boys drink and review Hopsecutioner IPA by Terrapin Brewing, then discuss the social pendulum.

On a number of key issues, Pigweed feels he has held the minority opinion. “The wrong side of history,” as the left would say. He’s tempted to believe the pendulum is swinging back his way. His question to Crowhill: Is it?

How do we define a “minority view” these days? We’re given the impression that believing a man can become a women is the majority view. But that’s false if you look at the statistics.

The larger question is whether we all live in a tech-driven echo chamber, which only shows us things that fit our profile. How can we know what’s true when our sources of information are “curated” based on our preferences?

Is the pendulum moving …

• Away from the trans madness?
• Away from climate alarmism?
• Away from St. George Floyd, DEI, BLM, “defund the police”?
• Towards a more realistic perspective of how we handled COVID?

Trump was recently convicted of 34 felony violations related to falsifying business records in order to influence the 2016 election.

We’ve now had our first political show trial where those in power go against their political opponents.

Welcome to Venezuela.

Democrats keep telling us to that Donald Trump will use the power of government to take revenge against his political enemies. But isn’t that precisely what we’re seeing right now?

Biden has nothing to run on except lawfare against Trump, so he has weaponized the justice system against Donald Trump.

We keep hearing about “election interference,” but this is it.

Here are some of the reasons this is all bogus.

The prosecutor (Alvin Brag) was political, ran on a platform to get Trump, and revived goofy charges that had already been investigated and found empty.

Judge Merchan was political.

• He had financial conflicts of interest involving his daughter, who is raising money on this issue.
• He donated money to anti-Trump political effort.
• He imposed a gag order on Trump.
• He excluded defense witnesses
• He preferred the prosecution in motions.
• He allowed the salacious testimony of Stormy Daniels (which is very similar to why the Weinstein convinction was overturned).
• He gave very strange jury instructions

This was a political jury.

There was no crime specified. The entire prosecution was based on a new and novel legal theory.

“The underlying crime is seemingly a minor misdemeanor – falsifying business records – which long ago expired under the statute of limitations. In order to turn it into a felony within the statute of limitations, prosecutors will have to show that Trump falsified the records in order to impact his election, thus constituting a federal election felony. …The problem is, however, that federal authorities have not prosecuted Trump for this federal election crime. Moreover, state prosecutors have no jurisdiction over federal election law. Finally, we were not even clear, when the trial began, as to precisely which federal election laws the District Attorney was relying on. ” –Dershowitz

This case would never have been brought against anyone but Trump. This is selective prosecution and sounds suspiciously like “show me the person and I’ll find the crime.”

The boys drink and review Depth Perception IPA by Terrapin Brewing, then discuss recent efforts to create a universal digital ID.

So much of daily life now requires a smart phone, an app, an account, … Sometimes you can’t even print out tickets. You have to have your phone. (Is it charged? Does it have service?)

You can’t drive without a transponder to pay tolls.

We’re leaving a permanent digital record of everything we do.

But that’s not enough. Governments are pushing us towards a single digital ID to have “completely transparency.” Everyone will know everything you do — and if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t worry about that, right?

No. The people who will have access to all your private data have biases and agendas. Sometimes they’ll be your enemy. With enough information, someone will be able to find a case against you. “Show me the man and I’ll find the crime.”

Also, this single repository will be hacked. Identity theft is already bad enough. Once we have digital IDs, the problem will multiply.

P&C drink and review All Purpose Pils, an Italian-style pilsner by DC Brau, then discuss the controversey over Kansas City Chief’s kicker Harrison Butker and his recent commencement speech.

Was it a mild-mannered, pro-family talk, or raging hate speech? That’s the problem we face today. It’s both — depending on whether you’re a sane person or a hair-on-fire liberal who listens to The View.

Butker is a conservative Catholic, and he speaks like one.

Are conservative Catholics allowed to speak their mind in public? Some people would say no.

The most important job in the history of mankind has been making babies and raising them to be productive members of society. Somehow that idea has become hate speech.

Butker gave a conservative Catholic message to a conservative Catholic audience. Why is that a problem?

The “tolerant” liberals can’t abide it. Nobody is allowed to have (and certainly not speak) an opinion that hurts their feelings.

The lesson is clear. Modern culture is steeped in feminism, and if you speak against it, you’re an enemy.

P&C drink and review a dark lager from Guilford brewing, then recount their recent journey to Reading PA to hear Jordan Peterson on his “We who struggle with God” tour. Longinus was unable to attend, but contributes to the conversation.

Jordan Peterson is famous for being cagey about his religious beliefs, but recently he’s been a little more straight forward, and almost evangelical (in the sense that he is promoting religious belief). P&C expected Dr. Peterson to make his case for the existence of God in his talk.

The boys enjoyed the talk, but it wasn’t what they expected.

The show started with some live music, then an intro by Dr. John Vervake, who is somewhat of a fellow traveler with Peterson.

Dr. Peterson adopted the theme of sacrifice for the evening’s talk, and told stories about sacrifice: Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel.

It was all good stuff, and classic Peterson, but he didn’t do what P&C expected, which was to give an argument for the necessity of God.

With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Pigweed’s homebrew clone of Steady Eddy IPA, then discuss a novella from John Steinbeck.

After a brief biographical review of Steinbeck, the boys discuss the basic story, then their impressions of the book and its characters.

The novel begins with a description of Cannery Row in Monterey, California, during the Great Depression. The row is a small, tight-knit community centered around sardine canneries, inhabited by colorful characters.

Most of the story centers around Doc, a marine biologist, and Mack and the boys, who are collection of good-natured ne’er-do-wells.

P&C drink and review Crowhill’s homebrewed Tavern Ale, then discuss evolution.

They start with a quick review of Darwin and his times and how scientists were slowly coming to the realization that the origin of the earth and life spanned a far longer time span than the Bible seemed to allow.

There are still a lot of things we don’t know about our history, but there are some things we know for sure.

* The earth is old.
* Life is old (maybe a billion years).
* Most creatures that have lived have gone extinct.
* Creatures have changed over time.
* Evolution seems to explain certain things about modern biology.

Other things remain debatable, such as the question of what drives the changes. Modern evolutionary theory seems to be struggling with this question right now. P&C have their doubts about the modern consensus that random genetic mutation is the stuff of evolution.

P&C try to work through the issues, balancing philosophy, science, and common sense.