Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

P&C drink and review an IPA from Mully's Brewery in Southern Maryand, then -- with special guest Longinus -- review the classic horror / mystery novel featuring the world's most famous detective.  The boys review the story of the spectral hound (with spoilers) and evaluate Conan Doyle's writing style, as well as his well-known characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. What kind of a man was Sherlock Holmes? And what kind of a relationship did he have with Watson?  The Hound of the Baskervilles is a classic tale, full of mystery,  romance, intrigue and horror, and a good introduction to these famous characters. 

The boys drink and review an imperial red ale, then -- with special guest Longinus -- discuss the hero quest pattern and how it applies to different stories. They see the pattern in the stories of Moses, Krishna and Mithridates. (They wanted to add Jesus and Buddha, but there wasn't time.) Then they discuss the larger issue of patterns and archetypes. What's the origin of this hero quest pattern, and why do so many compelling stories follow it? What does the hero quest say about each of our lives? Where are these archetypes from, and how do they play out in society?

The boys drink and review Holy Roller, a hazy IPA, and talk about Machiavelli. Do the ends justify the means? (And did Machiavelli mean that?) The boys discuss Machiavelli's historical context, the work for which he is mostly known, and the meaning and application of the term "Machiavellian." Machiavelli satirizes the classic view of virtues, espoused by Cicero. Those virtues might be nice, he says, but they won't keep you in power. The Prince is contrary to both Roman and Christian values, and was almost scandalous in its time.

P&C drink a Maibock, then discuss their favorite topic: beer.  The boys talk about hop classifications and uses, and why hops came to dominate beer. They also discuss warm vs. cold beer, and why temperature matters.  And what about sour beers? What's up with that. And speaking of off flavors, what about those beer geeks who criticize Budweiser?  They end with a pair of beer challenges. 

P&C drink and review Joyous IPA from Troegs, then talk about tattletales and crybabies. P&C are sick of them, but it seems their ranks are swelling. Instant gratification. The daily outrage. Helicopter parents. Participation trophies. And people get extremely upset over the most ridiculous things. How have we come to this place? How did we become so coddled and spoiled? The boys discuss possible causes from three angles: technology, culture, and the geopolitical situation. Plus the malaise of safety.

P&C drink and review "Unforgivable Curses" by Peabody Heights brewery, then discuss witches and witchcraft. What's up with witches? Nowadays they're fun and sexy, but there was a time when people were scared to death of them, hunted them down and hanged them. The boys discuss various pogroms against witches over the years, trying to sort out what's true and what's a misconception. They cover ... + Joan of Arc + The Malleus Maleficarum + The witch's mark + Salem + How many witches were actually killed? ... and much more.

P&C drink and review a hop-infused cider, then discuss how lawsuits and boycotts might be the only hope of saving western civilization from the assault by woke, racist morons. The boys don't like litigation or boycotts, but it seems those might be the only tools to fight critical race theory and the other woke idiocies that are ruining lives and destroying the culture. Corporations are buying into these explicity racist, illegal, and immoral diversity struggle sessions to avoid lawsuits. We need to show them that lawsuits and boycotts can come from both sides, and the law is on our side. And now we have Major League Baseball getting into politics. Rather than being the non-political escape that we all were able to enjoy together, sports organizations are injecting partisan politics into our free time. As distasteful as it is, boycott the idiots until they get some sense and grow a pair.

P&C review Pigweed's most recent pale ale, then discuss voting laws. Are the "one-time" accommodations to the pandemic going to change things permanently? The last election was weird. Mail-in (late) ballots. Ballots mailed to everyone on the roles. Votes counted after election day. Both sides recognize there's cause for some sort of clean-up, but we have different visions of what that should be. There's (so far) a federal approach, and a state (GA) approach. P&C weigh in, discussing the role of the federal and the state governments, and how we balance keeping things local vs. national standards.

P&C drink and review another Pastry Archy offering, Oatmeal Cream Pie: an imperial honey wheat ale. Then they review arguments for the existence of God, starting with Anselm's ontological argument. They move on to several of Aquinas' arguments, which mostly revolve around the concept of an infinite regress. Then there's "can you get something from nothing," and the idea of gradation. When we compare things, are we assuming an ultimate standard? What about morals, and miracles, and .... They can't cover it all, but P&C review some of the more well-known arguments and add their commentary.

Captain Crunch made a surprise trip to town, bringing a very strange Korean rice beer, and regaling Pigweed and Crowhill with tales of her travels in Korea.  What's different over there? Shopping. Weather. Living arrangements. Technology. Having a wacko neighbor to the north. Snack foods.  Driving. Trash. Listen in and hear all about it.

P&C drink and review an abbey ale, then discuss food fads, and worries about new agricultural innovations.  Organic food. GMO. "All-natural." Does it really matter? Or is this just a big marketing ploy? What does "organic" really mean? And aren't all of our foods genetically modified? The boys weigh the costs and benefits of scientifically modified food. 

P&C drink and review the latest Pastryarchy offering from DuClaw, then discuss the similarities between Martin Luther and Jordan Peterson. Crowhill is convinced JP is on the edge of a major transformation, and can see similarities between Peterson and Luther -- especially in how they deal with the righteousness of God. Peterson seems unable to deal with the moral weight of God's existence in a healthy way. It crushes him. It terrifies him. As it did Luther. JP will have to solve this. And soon.

P&C drink and review Shiner's Candied Pecan ale, then discuss the recent shenanigans of Milo Yiannopoulos. Milo used to be the flambouyant gay darling of the far right, until he seemed to advocate pedophilia, and then he dropped off the radar. We haven't heard much of Milo until he recently decided to come out as ex-gay! He's relegated his husband to the status of housemate, he's leading an online devotion to St. Joseph, and he's starting a new center for the much-despised "conversion therapy." Is this just another attention-getting prank? What are we to make of Milo? And why is "conversion therapy" such a unique problem? You can get goof-ball therapy to change any aspect of your personality that you like, except this? Why?

P&C drink and review St. Michael's Amber Ale, then discuss monarchies. They ask the obligatory question -- is Meghan Markle oppressed? -- and then discuss Piers Morgan, and the royal clown show in general. They move on to a general overview of the idea of monarchy, and whether such a thing is a good idea in the modern world. It turns out that countries with constitutional monarchies do pretty well. P&C offer some ideas why that might be.

P&C drink and review Pigweed's Cocoa / Peanut Butter Porter, then, with special guest Longinus, review the movie Conspiracy. The movie covers the Wannsee Conference of 1942, where Reinhart Heydrich gathers German leaders to discuss the "evacuation" of Jews from German-occupied territory. Heydrich (played by Kenneth Branagh) puts an exclamation point on "German efficiency." At first there is a lot of squabbling about the right approach from a legal / procedural point of view, but Heydrich leads them inexorably to a predetermined solution. The horrifying story calls to mind a quote from C.S. Lewis: "The greatest evil is ... now done ... in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices."

P&C review Glutenberg, a gluten-free IPA, then, along with special guest Longinus, discuss Elie Wiesel's Night. We've covered some hard topics, but this was the most difficult. The book chronicles Wiesel's experiences leading to and then during his confinement in Auschwitz. The story takes you through all the small steps on his journey from being a boy who wants nothing more than to study Kabbalah to an innocent who is sentenced to a living Hell.

P&C Review Little Sumpin' Sumpin' from Lagunitas, then do five topics in five minutes each. * What are the actual numbers on police murders, vs. what people believe. * Thoughts on fat shaming. * LSD therapy for depression and death anxiety? * Meta humans, created by AI. What are the consequences? * Is there a health benefit to looking at breasts?

P&C drink and review Crowhill's anise-flavored porter, then discuss the differences between equality and equity. Equality focuses on equal treatment. Equity focuses on equal outcomes. Equity is the right choice in some situations, but not in others. But "equity" has become the modern rallying cry, as if it's a cure-all. Equity is particularly misplaced when it's applied to groups rather than to individuals, so the combination of equity and identity politics creates a particularly bad outcome.

P&C drink and review O'Hara's Irish stout, then talk about UFOs. Is there some great conspiracy to hide evidence that aliens have come to earth, or is it just a big nothing-burger? P&C discuss the Fermi paradox and the Drake equation, and review some of the arguments that aliens have visited earth -- and find them wanting.

P&C drink and review a double IPA, then discuss the 3-headed hydra of cancel culture: canceling the present, erasing the past, and banning people for the future. We're starting to see examples of the media editing old stories to change the past. It's literally Orwellian. We see new initiatives to erase literal crimes to give someone a fresh start, but thought crimes from decades ago ruin lives. And then there's the move to erase Donald Trump from Home Alone 2.