Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

Before they drink and review some recent homebrews, the boys listen in on a performance by the Ben Franklin Players, then discuss identity. How do people define themselves? What identifies them? Is it their profession? Religion? Marital status? Age? Or what excites them sexually?  The boys recently read about Michaela Cuomo's announcement that she is "demisexual," and wonder why this is a thing. Is our identity tied to our sexual preference?

What's up with Simone Biles? P&C drink and review a pale ale from Three Floyds, then discuss the Olympics. What makes a sport an Olympic sport? How do we get new sports? What sports have been tried and failed? Why do some women have to wear skimpy uniforms? Also, why all the protests, and how should nations react to them?

The boys drink and review Green's gluten-free amber ale, then discuss futurism and crazy predictions. P&C review quotes from prominent, famous people who got things horribly wrong and made ridiculous predictions, which are funny now, but were taken seriously when they were made.  It's good to keep these quotes in mind when you hear modern experts tell us confidently what will happen in the future.

P&C drink a homebrew fail from Crowhill, then discuss various sociological perspectives on religion. If you look at religion from an evolutionary or sociological perspective, what function does it serve? How was religious belief a positive adaptation? Or was it? Sociologists and evolutionary psychologists who study this question have come up with some interesting theories about the benefits of religion, and why it helped humans advance. P&C consider the "New Atheist" perspective on religion and compare it with other secular approaches.

P&C drink and review Wook Bait IPA by Left Hand Brewing, then discuss the privilege enjoyed by attractive people. Let's face it, the world stops to admire the attractive person -- especially the attractive young woman. Attractive people are more likely to get called back for a job interview, more likely to get the job, and earn more when they get it. Attractive salesmen get more sales for more money. It's easier for them to find a mate, they have an advantage in politics, and are seen as more competent, kind and trustworthy.

P&C drink and review Fresh Roasted, a delicious, peanut-flavored English Ale. The boys review some of the history of communism -- the Frankfurt school, and various publicly stated communist objectives -- and review how well they've done advancing those objectives. The "classless society" has always been a lie. The actual agenda is and has always been a one-party, totalitarian state. So, how are they doing with their goals? 

P&C drink and review an IPA from Great Lakes Brewing Company, then talk about the change different generations have seen over time. How would a time traveler from 1900 view 1990? Or again, how will someone from 1960 view 2050? The boys review important changes in each decade of the 20th century, then make some predictions for the future.

P&C drink and review Chesapeake Wheat from Flying Dog brewery, then ask why the United States seems to be the only nation that's continually down on itself.  From the very top, people all constantly ragging on the United States. Our president, vice president, and their entire cabinet, keep tearing us down. We're told we're inherently, systemically racist. That we were founded on racism and white supremacy.  Who wants to live in a country like that? Who wants to fight to defend a country like that? How does this affect our foreign policy? 

P&C drink and review a porter from Founders, then discuss the declining standards in dress. How people dress in public matters, and our common standards have been declining for decades. P&C aren't fans. What are the social and personal advantages of dressing better? Quite a lot, actually. Put simply: dress better and people will treat you better.

P&C drink and review Inescapable Fate from Nepenthe Brewing, then discuss quality of life issues in U.S. cities.  Lovely places around the country are falling apart because the local officials are failing to do their jobs. Venice Beach. Fells Point. San Francisco.  Some prosecutors in these locations have decided not to prosecute "quality of life" crimes, and quality of life is deteriorating.  What's to be done? In Baltimore, businesses have created an escrow fund and are withholding their tax payments until the city starts doing its job. Will that help? 

The boys drink and review Hysteria's "What You Want," then continue their "shortcut to the classics" series, with special guest Longinus, by reviewing a few Mark Twain short stories. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County A True Story The Diary of Adam and Eve The $1,000,000 Bank-Note A Dog's Tale

P&C drink and review Pigweed's latest homebrew, then discuss the ruckus in Virginia, where a teacher was fired for failing to toe the line on transgender ideology. A parent rebellion ensued, exposing the high-handed tactics of the educational establishment.  Most people don't like Critical Race Theory, and don't want it taught to their children.  This kind of push-back seems to be catching fire all over the country, as parents realize how radicalized the school system has become, and how much contempt the establishment has for them.

After reviewing a wheat beer from DuClaw, the boys review some of Iain McGilchrist's findings on differences between the functions of the two hemispheres, and what they say about how we view the world. The left and right hemispheres have very different perspectives on life. The right tends to look at the big picture, while the left tends to be more task-specific. When the two hemispheres are cut, scientists are able to communicate separately with each side, and have learned some very interesting things about how the two sides of our brain function, and what biases they bring to the world. McGilchrist is concerned that our society is becoming too left-brain focused, and believes we need a correction.

The boys drink and review Young Buck, a Maibock from Key Brewing, then knock out five topics in five minutes each. The lab origin hypothesis. There's a lab in Wuhan, China, that works on "gain of function" in coronaviruses, which, by an astonishing coincidence, is where the virus started -- but somehow the idea that the virus came from the lab was a crazy conspiracy theory. Zoom life -- what we've learned about virtual meetings during the pandemic. Sobriety checkpoints -- are they legal? Should they be? They seem to reverse the presumption of innocence. Vaccines -- are you a crazy, awful, conspiratorial monster if you choose to avoid the vaccine? 9-0 SCOTUS decision on Catholic organizations being involved in foster care.

The boys review two homebrewed bourbon barrel-aged stouts, then discuss safety. In the 70s we didn't wear helmets or knee pads, and we didn't use seat belts. How much safer are we today? How much safer do we feel? What about sports. Do kids collect friends and play sports, or do they have to wait until the adults organize it for them? Do they ever learn to negotiate and resolve conflicts? What has caused the change?

The boys review their Strauss challenge (Vienna malt vs. Munich malt), then discuss two different ways of approaching the world -- the broader meaning vs. the specific, practical meaning -- and how a skeptical / analytical view of the world contrasts with a more intuitive view. One view might be called sentimental, or following an unprovable grand narrative, while the other might be called practical, rational, hard-headed or maybe "objective." Should everything be "rational"? Sometimes things that seem irrational have a hidden origin or meaning that shouldn't be easily dismissed.

P&C drink and review a west coast IPA from local Hysteria Brewing, then discuss statehood for DC and PR.  Is "taxation without representation" a fair way to characterize the U.S. attitude towards the District of Columbia? The constitution says Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over the federal district. Is that a good idea? Or .. do you want the seat of government under the control of one of the states? And how about Puerto Rico? Should it be a state? Under what terms do we admit new territories as states?

P&C drink and review Hysteria's Barleyfine, then discuss military recruitment. How do you inspire young men to join the armed forces and put their lives on the line for the country? According to the Biden administration, wokeness is the key. What we need, they think, is flight suits for pregnant women. They boys recently watched four recruitment videos: one from China, one from Russia, and two from the U.S. -- one for the army and one for the CIA. The Russians and the Chinese are appealing to masculinity, strength, discipline, self-sacrifice and other traditional disciplines. The U.S. videos are all about voyages of self discovery, wokeness and narcissism. The military is about shedding your individual identity to become part of a bigger cause, specifically service to the country.

P&C drink and review Gaffel's Kolsch, then discuss the lockdown. Was it worth it?  What was the original purpose of locking us all in our homes? How did we get into this weird situation in the first place? Why did we allow it to go so long? What were the consequences, and the unintended consequences?  In making this unprecedented decision, did anyone count the costs of the lockdown? Apparently not. It seems that the allegedly free governments of the west saw that China got away with it and decided to give it a try. To their surprise (and glee?), it worked.  The lockdown was a one-size fits all response to a disease that was known to affect demographic groups very differently. It was a hammer solution to a tweezer problem.  Think of the damage that's been done to our culture as a result of the lockdown. The media is in cahoots with the government, promoting one story and suppressing another. We've accepted the idea that there's an orthodoxy of thought, and it's infiltrated science. Big

P&C drink and review Spaten's Optimator, then discuss Biden's first 100 days in office. How has he done? While there are some decent, or even positive points, the overall rating is poor. The boys discuss his sharp left turn, his oversight of the vaccine program, his spending proposals, his cowardice in the face of the teacher's union, his mismanagement of the border, his foreign policy, climate issues, social justice, police reform, accusing the United States of racism .... Biden seems on track to be Jimmy Carter 2, or worse.