Episode 32 - A Non-Travelin' Man

If Johnny Cash has been everywhere ("man!"), then some of us have a lot of catching-up to do. Do we all dream of visiting exotic lands and experiencing different cultures? If so, then why do some of us rarely leave our own proverbial back yards? John and Smokey swap their limited travel stories and wonder just how well-rounded they each really are...



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Episode 31 - The Zombie Horde Comes from Wal-Mart

Zombies, zombies, zombies! The End of the World! It's on TV, in the movies, and in lots of popular books these days. Is everyone so eager for civilization to be blown to Hell and be overrun by festering, rotting flesh-monsters??? Pop culture sure seems to think so. John and Smokey wonder why we all seem to have these morbid fantasies, and then started planning their fallout shelter...



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Although we did find a lot of interesting reading on this topic, it was this Mashable article that got our thought process rolling. See for yourself.
http://mashable.com/2015/03/12/zombie-obsession/#32RO_icVckqA

Episode 30 - Tweet People Right

Social media makes it easier for people to communicate and exchange ideas than ever before, and how do most of us utilize it? By yelling at each other! What is it about social media that seems to make any discussion of anything meaningful devolve into a shouting match? John and Smokey talk it out... with civility, no less.



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Episode 29 - Then Along Comes Uwe Boll...

You just love a video game. The story's great, and you're sure it would make a terrific movie. Well, history shows that the odds of it happening are slim. Why do video game movies invariably suck, and why are so many directed by Uwe Boll...?



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Oh, and the list we found that got us thinking on this topic, and to which we refer throughout the episode is at 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_video_games

Episode 28 - For Love of the Game

It's baseball season! This time of year is almost holy season for some (Smokey among them), and John wonders if he's been missing out on something. Listen in as the two of them try to verbalize all those sappy, touchy-feely things some people seem to feel for our National Pastime.

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Episode 27 - The Billion-Dollar Comic-Book Movie

"Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" has finally hit theaters, and geeks everywhere rejoice! Or do they...? Bad reviews means nerds everywhere are talking their heads off about the movie's faults and/or merits.  What's our take?  Well, give a listen...



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Episode 26 - You Kids Get Offa My Lawn!!!

A friend of ours was recently the first of our old gang to make it to the age of fifty, and after we got over the thoughts of our own mortality that brought about, we then began thinking about how the world has changed since we were sprouts. You know, like old farts tend to do...



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Episode 25 - No More Doughnut Money

Most of us aren't Miss Daisy, with someone to drive us where we want to go. The day when we won't have to drive ourselves anywhere at all is fast approaching, however. John and Smokey daydream about self-driving cars, and wonder how the masses may fear the machines taking over yet another of our day-to-day chores.



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The piece that got us thinking about topic is a little involved, but an interesting read. Check it out, and you may find it describing your own thoughts and/or fears about driver-less cars...

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/01/cover-ride.aspx

Episode 24 - Hooked on Phone-ics

Has anything changed the day-to-day activity of our lives like the smartphone? From communicating to banking to buying movie tickets, the computer we all carry with us has become all but indispensable... but can we become literally addicted to using it... and if we can, is that REALLY so bad? John and Smokey ponder this question, but they do it verbally, and not via text message.



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Further reading on this subject, which can also be done via smartphone or tablet (in case you can't put those down):

http://time.com/3952333/smartphone-addiction/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201307/smartphone-addiction

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/tech-addiction/

Episode 23 - Haters Gonna Hate

Since Will Smith introduced Mankind to the term "Hater" almost twenty years ago, some people have given greater life to that word than reasonable folk would ever have thought possible. But why??? John and Smokey ponder this deep, deep question... and call that kind of people nasty names...



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Further reading, if you're so inclined, can include this discussion about Soren Kirkegaard's thoughts on "haters" of the Nineteenth Century:

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/10/13/kierkegaard-diary-bullying-trolling-haters/

and a fairly interesting Huffington Post piece about "haters" today, and what might make them tick:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregory-s-parks/the-psychology-of-haters_b_7597400.html

Episode 22 - Grow Up, Already!

It's said there's a time to put away childish things and be a man (or woman). Okay, just when is that time? Have you reached it? Being a "grown-up" is a subjective thing. John and Smokey wonder exactly what that means...



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We learned about some of the Rites of Passage discussed in this show from these articles. Check 'em out for yourself! 

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/13-amazing-coming-of-age-traditions-from-around-th/

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/02/21/male-rites-of-passage-from-around-the-world/

Episode 21 - Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions

Why on Earth don't movie and TV characters wear shoes indoors? How are there always parking spaces available at the front door? Do all movie aliens look just like us? John and Smokey ponder some of the dumb things in movies that NEVER happen in reality (or at least sure don't seem to...).



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Credit where credit is due - this episode's title comes from a bit Andy Samberg and Will Ferrell did for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. See the brilliance here: https://youtu.be/Sqz5dbs5zmo

Episode 20 - Manners Maketh Man

"Do unto others before they do it to you..." No, wait, that's not right... is it?  You'd never know these days, as people are less considerate of one another than ever before, or at least it seems that way.  John and Smokey wonder why "good manners" are so hard to find anymore, or better yet, why are they so hard to practice?



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We found the story about the screaming-child incident at the diner in Portland, Maine here: http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/local/portland/2015/07/19/portland-diner-facebook-post/30391407/

Curious about those characteristics of manners from days gone by that John was telling us about? Check 'em out here: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/07/23/the-anatomy-of-etiquette-how-to-be-an-old-school-gentleman-from-head-to-toe/

Episode 19 - Conspiracy of Fat

We all want to be more fit, don't we... or do we all just want to be better-looking? How can we hope to be either with the doughnuts and cookies that the World seems to keep throwing at us? John and Smokey search for both answers and a smaller pants size.



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John happens to be a certified instructor in MoveNat, which was mentioned several times in this episode. You can learn more about it at https://www.movnat.com/

Episode 18 - Comfortable Geek Skin

Are we not Men? No! We are Geeks! ...or are we Nerds...? With the things Geeks love permeating popular culture of late, does this mean being a Geek is now mainstream? If so, are we FINALLY cool now? Probably not, but John and Smokey discuss the possibility.



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Episode 17 - Accepting Collecting

Bottlecaps, coins, stamps, ticket stubs, ball caps, Beanie Babies... People collect all sorts of stuff, but why? Anthony and Smokey spend a few minutes wondering what drives us to choose these items and devote such energy to obtaining them... 



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Episode 16 - We're All Stalkers

Ever meet somebody famous? Get an autograph? A "selfie"? Did it change your life? Did anybody really care?  The guys ponder our cultural fascination with celebrity, and why we all feel so drawn to those who have gained some sort of fame.



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Episode 15 - Wondering about One-Hit Wonders

The two goobers flip through their iTunes libraries and find all sorts of weird stuff from performers no one ever heard from again.  Lots of pop culture-related conversation ensues...



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Episode 14 - The Six-Figure Anchor

With Smokey moving soon, he and Anthony got to thinking about the "American Dream" of home ownership, and how it has been one of the linchpins of our society for more than a century.  Of course, very little of our society is the same as it was a hundred years ago, so should the notion of being financially stuck in one place continue to be so important to us? 



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Today's show stemmed from our reactions to a short video lecture given by Professor Richard Florida from the Univ. of Toronto, an expert in urban studies (yeah, real deep stuff). It's just ten minutes, but is very, very interesting. See for yourself...
http://bigthink.com/videos/the-end-of-home-ownership

Episode 13 - Nostalgia Now! Nostalgia Forever!

Hearing old songs you loved long ago, seeing a place where you once had fun, or finding lost mementos buried in a closet... the nostalgia such things make us feel present a range of emotions, some good and some not-so-good. We'll bet you didn't know just how complex those feelings can be, and just how they might actually benefit you...



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The article in the New York Times that started this train of thought...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/science/what-is-nostalgia-good-for-quite-a-bit-research-shows.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

A little something in "The Atlantic" that explains how advertisers and other media outlets play on our nostalgic tendencies:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/how-the-internet-uses-nostalgia/283966/

...and just in case you didn't believe us about "Full House" returning to television...
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/netflix-to-reboot-full-house-1201465475/