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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