Episode 275 - Surf's Up!

As the looming threat of nuclear war hangs above our head like a bad 80's flick, we must stand firm and remember that the dozens of fatalities from the immediate blasts will be dwarfed by the following radiation fallout! So get your Pip-Boys ready, keep your Gauss rifle close, and sleep soundly to the fact that you'll be a creepy Ghoul at best in the nuclear winter! Dasvidaniya, boys!

- Channel Surfing
- Tiny Propaganda
- Machismo
- Easy Mode

Ah, channel surfing. The true American pastime. It's not good enough to just sit and watch something, you've got to scroll through all the available channels you have because dammit, you paid for them! And that's how we live our lives now, scrolling from crisis to crisis, forgetting them like a cereal commercial from three channels ago. With each press of the button we excitedly stop and analyze. "Is this something I like?" "Is this a rerun?" "Oh, this movie is half over? Pass!" All the while the rest of the people in the room are trying to quickly discuss each passed channel and yelling out "go back a few" so they can show off their knowledge on some obscure foreign film no one else wants to watch.

Propaganda isn't quite as blatant as it used to be. It has been adapted to the modern times, trying to trick your brain into thinking things it didn't before. It's the small things, like memes, that invade your subconscious. And yes, even the reverse psychology anti-memes that are all the rage these days have been weaponized. It's the way we change language to suit one party and not the other. It all adds up to make you believe that the sexy president of the poor, oppressed people needs help nuking the enemy so you can get a cute military girl to marry you.

We hear a lot about toxic masculinity these days, but there's another more accurate word to describe it, machismo. It's the dumb, entitled sense of strength that some men have, and if others don't show also display it, they are weak. It starts as a teenager, when you get stronger and taller than the others around you, and you want to show it off. At this point, just about all of us go through it. "Sure, pack another box on top of there, I got it." But as you age, you SHOULD grow out of it. Working smarter instead of harder. Unfortunately, not everyone does.

People want to be part of the zeitgeist. So when the hot new thing comes around and it's not for you? Most folks do the proper thing and ignore it, but others must complain that they can't play in the same sandbox. It's why you have to "bring enough for the whole class" when you just want to eat a piece of candy as a kid. It's why your Legos get bent and disappear because you're forced to share with the dumb kid who can't even put them together right. Not everything is made for you, and if you want it to be, then change it yourself.

All this and more on this week's episode! Don't forget to join us on DISCORD, support us on PATREON or by BUYING A SHIRT.