I’m Henry, and I have Michael on hand with me. We’ll be with you in just a moment. Thanks for joining us!
Welcome to Wisecrack Live!
It’s March 30th, 2023 and we’re excited to have you join us for Wisecrack live! I’m Henry and I’m joined by Michael. We’ll be with you in just a moment, so thanks for joining us! um but yeah I have it and I take medication for it and it’s helped me a lot so that’s why I’m here I’m here to talk to you um and yeah let’s see what else we got here
It’s Opening Day for professional baseball, and Mellow Jello already asked Henry when we’ll have emotes. Changes are on the way - this will be the last stream where you see me in this quality, as I have a new camera and new lighting coming later today. A big thank you to my wonderful boss, Andrew Saul, for letting us buy new gear. If you want to honor him, make sure to follow Arcade Cloud on YouTube. John notes that White Thug Number Three is here, and Julia went on a date last night and told the guy about this podcast. Bisexual lighting is coming, and we’re even considering trisexual and quadsexual lighting if we can get a budget for it. Paul talked about my retinas, and we’re taking extra care to protect them. Super Sleepy Boys is right - I don’t know what that word means! Someone also brought up ADHD meds - this stream isn’t sponsored by generic Concerta, but it could be. Shout out to everyone who is at work getting paid to listen to Wisecrack. Today, we’ll look at the Senate hearings from yesterday between Bernie Sanders and Starbucks, and a legal eagle video on the origin of “Florida Man”. Antoine Walters is this week, and Mr. Navidad got a raise - congrats! I asked last week if you could watch the video that came out Monday and be encouraging, and you did - the video performed well. We’re going to start making more videos that are more explicitly philosophical or more straightforward philosophical. Someone asked what ADHD med I’m on - I do have ADHD, and I take medication for it. That’s why I’m here to talk to you. Let’s get right to it and talk about Bernie versus Starbucks, and the legal eagle video. Yeah, definitely! If your age starts with a two, you’re considered young. Let’s look at the comments. The first one says, “I really love these explicitly philosophical videos. In fact, I prefer them if I could go back a second for my undergrad and do philosophy. I love how you discuss these ideas so I can compile my reading list. Hell yeah!”
The second one says, “This was incredible if that was the only one who thought of toxic individuality, but it turns out Buvar had thought of it decades ago. Thanks for inspiring any passion for studying philosophy. If you haven’t watched that video, there’s a quote from Simone de Bouvoir in the video where she in like 1947 describes America and it’s crazy how accurate it seems like what she says about America in 1947 feels like what’s going on now. So I would if you haven’t seen the video check that out.”
Dennis Vandermeier turned 30, but feels 18. ram I don’t know I’m gonna have to look into that
It seems that aging is a topic that many people can relate to. My dad said that sometimes when he looks in the mirror he can’t believe how old he is and he still feels the same. Nelson gave 10 memberships in the chat, which was very generous. We discussed nihilism in a video and it’s not as negative as people think it is. We also discussed how Millennials are in an age group now where most of us are almost done or completely past our 20s and how this affects how we handle aging.
Jacob also gave 10 memberships and it seems like we have a changing leadership in the chat. Gary got over Noro and I’m glad about that. We also have a stream on 420 this year and I’m going to look into that.
My list for topics that I’m thinking we should cover includes existentialism, Hume/empiricism, consequentialism versus deontology, ethics in general, idealism, humanism and anti-human humanism, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Simone de Bouvar, neoliberalism, communism, capitalism, Apollo Ferrari, and the philosophy of education. Someone also mentioned absurdism, Camus, and objectivism. ines yeah I mean we we did a video on that um and I think that was a really interesting video and I think it was a really interesting conversation and I think it’s a really interesting conversation to continue to have and I think it’s a really important conversation to have and I think it’s a really important conversation to have and I think it’s a really important conversation to have and I think it’s a really important conversation to continue to have.
Yeah, Millennials are getting old, so there you go. Next comment: It can be hard to create media that denounces media in some ways, but that’s what makes it genuine. Also, in another note, looking the void into the eyes and saying “I’ve got energy inside of me, I will use it to help myself and others” as tough as nails and a constant endeavor can inspire us to keep it up. Got rules, guys? Let’s all get up every day, look the void in the eyes, and say “I can do this!” There you go. It was noted that creating media that denounces media can be an irony of what we do sometimes. Honeyman asked a really interesting question in the last Patreon video: is Wisecrack doing anything radical or critical, or is our ability to criticize the system a feature of the system itself? YouTube does not like substance culture of any sort. College educations have become commodities and businesses, and while it can be amazing when done right, college isn’t for everyone and there are many other ways to learn transferable skills. We talked about this on stream last week, and it’s a great point. There is a struggle to find any example outside the system other than Rick playing Roy burning his SS card. We also did a video on Jordan Peterson misrepresenting post-modernism, which is an important conversation to continue to have. Wars fans who are here and I know there’s a lot of you because I know you guys are always ready to talk about Star Wars so let’s talk about Star Wars
Nietzsche’s ideas of nihilism have helped me to realize that I am the author of my own destiny and that I can decide my own morals and ideals. Since embracing nihilism, I have found myself feeling more free and happy. This is a really important point to consider, as it is often naive to think that one can just leave a religious or ideological belief system and be content. It is important to recognize that we all have explanatory mechanisms for understanding the world and that we all have an impulse to find meaning and structure. Michael O’Neill Beast has a great point here as well. As someone who has experienced religious life in various forms, I can attest to the fact that those who are most extreme in their religious beliefs are often the ones who end up going off the rails.
Additionally, Bernie Sanders has been calling out Howard Schultz for not speaking out against union busting. Starbucks workers have been voting to form unions so they can collectively bargain, rather than as individuals. Howard Schultz, the billionaire who runs Starbucks, is fighting against the unions. Bernie Sanders believes that Howard Schultz is a [__] and wants him to come to his house so he can call him out in front of a bunch of people.
Lastly, I want to give a shout out to all the Star Wars fans here. I know there are a lot of you, so let’s talk about Star Wars! Today marks one year since the union vote began. It was a tumultuous time, as workers attempted to exercise their constitutional right to form a union. Unfortunately, there was a concerted effort from management to build a case against those who showed even the slightest bit of support for the union. Despite this, the vote passed, and we are still celebrating the victory today.
It’s important to recognize the global implications of this victory. We should strive to create a sense of unity and inclusion in the global community, and this victory is just one example of how we can do that.
Maxwell Frosting is a great example of this. He’s from Orlando, and his story is inspiring to people all over the world. We should all be inspired to work together to make a difference.
Anthony Bourdain is another great example of this. He was known for showing up everywhere 15 minutes early. It’s a great example of how we can be proactive in our efforts to make a difference.
So today, let’s celebrate the union vote one year ago and the progress we have made since then. Let’s continue to strive for a better, more inclusive world, and let’s never forget the importance of showing up on time. and I was like you don’t do this to the employees you don’t do this to the people in the Philippines and so I just I was like I’m not gonna do this and I’m not gonna hire these people and I was like this is just wrong and it’s like it’s indicative of our entire system and it’s just so wrong
It’s pretty crazy that Starbucks, a company that goes through all the effort of not using the term ’employee’ or ‘worker’ but ‘Partner’, which has this aesthetic sense of like you are more than just a worker, won’t then sit across the table from them as partners and negotiate with them as people. After the company announced that Partners who were organizing or had already unionized would not receive a series of important benefit increases that non-union stores would be granted, my partners along with thousands of Partners across the country still do not have access to these benefits nor do we have a company that is willing to sit across the table with us and bargain for them. It’s well past time for the company to bargain in good faith.
Retaliation and union busting ramped up even more after we won our election. We were constantly being watched and managers listened in on our conversations through our headsets. We were disciplined for minor things that happened in the store like being written up for being two minutes late which had never happened before. A partner who experienced sexual harassment from one of our managers was terminated after reporting it.
It’s indicative of our entire system that in America in general and right here I’ll try to speak internationally in this way I’m curious the people from around the world feel like it’s any different but like basically every job I’ve ever had in my life in America at least I’ve truly felt like at any point there’s just like a person who could just fire me like that and it creates the conditions where it’s like would I even want to try to make things better because I’ll probably just get fired while doing it.
I probably told this story before but I’ll tell it again: I worked for a company once then I now because of the new agreement my NDA I think isn’t invalid anymore but I worked for this company called jump cut and for my severance package I had to sign a thing that said I couldn’t disparage but that the labor committee said I’m allowed to now. At this company jump cut I was hiring some freelance writers at one point and what they wanted me to do because they’re the company policy on contractors was you had to install software on their laptops that monitored what they did and I think could even use the camera to see if they were like working. And here’s the best part, they did this for all of the employees so a huge chunk of the freelance staff of the company worked in the Philippines. It’s just such a bad vibe that it’s indicative of our entire system and it’s just so wrong. yeah so we’re going to be doing more of this type of stuff and we appreciate all the support and feedback we’ve been getting so thank you all for that
We’ve tried to schedule meetings with 365 and my understanding is that on multiple occasions they have been cancelled at the last minute. This is not acceptable and I am not only asking you, but urging you to do the right thing and sit down face to face. Bernie said “nut up or shut up” or whatever people say. Nate Lynch said the problem is a focus on profits and Isco said the music hitting was wired. When you say how to do sexual harassment, do you mean get away with it? It was like a pickup artist channel where they taught you how to emotionally manipulate women. Some of the people I had to work with there were these 23 year old guys that they met because they did these classes and they were just so sad. Jan said to talk about what’s happening in Paris and Gary said “rich and right don’t mix”.
Maeve asked if I had been able to join for a bit and Nick mentioned that 911 was an inside job. Julia wrote to let us know that there was a new Harris Hall out and Zach has done some really cool tattoo designs.
We appreciate all the support and feedback we’ve been getting and will be doing more of this type of stuff. Thank you all for that! ordia man
Thanks for all the members of the chat who have been here today. I really appreciate it. Before we move on, please remember to like the stream if you haven’t already. This will help us feed the algorithm and keep us going.
We’re going to talk about Florida a little bit and the bizarre origin of Florida man. Devin from Legal Eagle recently put out a video about this topic and it’s fun to talk about weird Florida stuff.
I also want to mention that I’m in a Grateful Dead cover band and we had our first shows over the weekend. If you’re in Southern California, come see us!
Lastly, I wanted to mention the movie Babylon. It’s an incredible movie that everyone should watch. Let’s watch the video and talk about Florida. Thanks for being here and liking the stream. We appreciate it! leeing Florida man arrested after leaping from moving car while naked and Florida man arrested for threatening to kill everyone at a Walmart with an AK 47
Thanks to the efforts of the Florida Man Twitter account who gained national attention when he began collecting news stories about Florida man stories to illustrate real life headlines about the world’s worst superhero, though the account stopped tweeting in 2019, you could also track the exploits of Florida man stories on Reddit and Tumblr or you could just apply Florida man to your Google Alerts. The general pattern of these stories involve headlines that are literally just Florida man followed by the absolutely bonkers thing that they are reported to have done.
What kinds of things, you ask? Well, I’m so happy you asked because these peculiar tales fall into several categories of Floridian whoa. You’ve got your booze-related antics, like:
“Beer is my coffee,” says beer is my coffee. Wow! For his ninth DUI, 58-year-old Phillip P Jordan was arrested after he drove out of a KFC fast food restaurant. Wow.
Another thing about Florida is like the normalization of things like drunk driving there is really crazy and it’s it’s a bad and it sucks but growing up and learning to drive there there was a way in which the even like the thought of drunk driving is normalized in a way I think luckily much of the rest of the country it is now is Florida DUI.
Florida man arrested on DUI charge after driving scooter into Walmart shelves.
Police say drunk Florida man tries to use Taco as ID after his card is refused.
And I’ll say this too. You’ve got drug-related mishaps, like:
Florida man high on Flocka.
Florida man calls cops to come over and test if his meth is authentic.
Florida man says syringes found in his rectum aren’t his.
Then you’ve got bizarre injuries often involving the misuse of firearms, explosives, or wildlife, like:
Florida man accidentally shoots himself and notices two days later.
Florida man who blew arms off making fireworks with coffee grinder won’t be charged.
Florida man fleeing from cops attacked by alligator.
And then you’ve got Florida crime stories, like:
Police fleeing Florida man arrested after leaping from moving car while naked.
Florida man arrested for threatening to kill everyone at a Walmart with an AK-47. kimo rolling a kayak over the edge of the world
Shout out to the French drinking wine on a little table in Antarctica and there’s a race to see who can get to the South Pole first and it’s the Norwegian group who does the British team gets there second and everyone dies on their way back and the map is shaping up. New goals come to our places you gave your whole, I don’t get it.
It’s cool that they did that, but I just don’t get it because through the poll going through the ominous unexplored region on the map a guy named Shackleton tried this but didn’t make it very far but his journey became a tale of courage and the will to live. I read the book about this, uh Shackleton’s Journey I think it’s called Endurance. When he and his crew, against all odds in some of the most hostile circumstances, managed to all return home. The expeditions of that period reset the standards of human limits and bit by bit, line by line, the void on the map was gradually getting filled in by 1920. You’re seeing maps like this, a red shading on the parts that we know and yet still so much left unknown.
After millennia of dreaming of it, we finally and indisputably conquered the skies. We were now able to lay our eyes on uncharted territories at an unprecedented scale. The first airplane flew over the South Pole in 1928 and in the next decade, the Wright brothers, or as I call them the Property Brothers. It’s a decade many more would follow, each flight providing more detail to add to the compendium of hard-fought observations.
But as much as it is a part of our nature to explore and learn, petty fights about who owned this land came to the surface and thus on the maps more and more we see these shades of colors, unnaturally straight lines that indicate who owns what. Scientific research like, why do you want to own a bunch of ice? You know, I just there’s like cooler stuff.
Even if you’re going to be a shitty colonist like on something station stop the icy Julia’s ex-girlfriend from Florida believes there are pyramids in Antarctica. It adds up. It adds up. And again, hello to uh the person Julia went on a date with yesterday. For some reason, you’re watching this, um you know, if you go out again make sure it’s a fun time, treat her well, okay? Because if not, we’re her family and we’ll we’ll get you.
Established as much for asserting territorial control as for science, and now it’s a new world where the two super caspi are good rossoian tells us that it’s not part of our nature to conquer and dominate, that’s a choice. Okay, so shut up.
Hobson law powers had turned the map into their chessboard for influence, both were now looking for a share of what was still Earth’s largest unexplored territory and soon the United States is making maps like this that has a whole shade color dedicated to land that has been seen exclusively by American eyes. It’s a map that says we were here first, creating a paper trail that they could point to just in case they needed to stake a claim here at the bottom of the planet.
But then the countries get together and they make an agreement that Antarctica was not meant to be just a new field for our conflicts, but rather a place for scientific inquiry. So scientists keep coming, enabled by better technology, icebreakers, and helicopters are unloaded onto the continent. But despite all the progress, uh there is an Anthony Bourdain episode where they went to Antarctica, it seemed like a rough rough continent remains unknown and potentially unknowable.
That’s until humans break a seemingly impossible barrier by eskimo rolling a kayak over the edge of the world.