Pop-Culture Pelican

Dan and Patrick visit The Good Place (season 1 viewers will be safe from spoilers from the second and third seasons.) Eventually there will be a season 2 episode.

This sort of unusual episode was originally recorded by Patrick and Dan as a talk Dan gave for Philosophy Night at St Stephen Catholic Church. The talk concerns ideas about philosophical knowledge and "news you can use". Its main question is "What is Knowledge to an Island Castaway?" but along the way we get to discuss Walker Percy's essay "The Message in the Bottle", Aquinas, Kierkegaard and many other things. Packet, for following along, here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WeX4yN3KZz1cgiPEvhiGtfS5uFg3-f6l/view

Dan and Patrick dive into the new film "A Quiet Place" with special guests Kathleen and Gary Lundquist. Along the way, they talk about the use of sound, the construction of fictional universes, and what GK Chesterton, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien have to do with a 2018 horror film.

Dan and Patrick review the TV they saw, books they read, music they listened to and games they played in 2017+ that received little to no podcast coverage, covering a wide range. Including: TV Series, HBO's Westworld Novel, Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed Music album, Sleep Well Beast from The National Video game, Celeste from Matt Makes Games. Stay tuned soon because we actually made good on A Quiet Place and that'll be up in a week or two. Music Samples used in open/close/interludes, in order of appearance: Patrick Tomassi - PCP Theme The Killers - The Calling Arcade Fire - Everything Now Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - One Blink for Yes (Stranger Things OST) Lena Raine - Reach for the Summit (Celeste OST) Danny Baranowski - Ballad of the Burning Squirrel (Super Meat Boy OST) Dan Lower - Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Splotch Aphilas - Remain Solid Freddie Joachim - Waves

Patrick and Dan play catch-up on ALL THE MOVIES they watched last year. Next Monday the 14th, you'll hear them play catch up on all the TV, books, music and video games they were into. P.S. In banter, Dan mentions a Portland band called Cold Static almost done with an EP. It's been released in the ensuing couple of weeks since recording, for those curious: https://soundcloud.com/coldstatic/sets/songs-for-your-sandwich

Dan and Patrick go to the South in an episode on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The film, directed by Martin McDonagh and starring Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, follows a mother as she goes after the police for not doing more to solve her daughter's murder. Spoilers (and samples with explicit language) begin at 20:00.

Patrick and Dan get spooky with the Puritans just in time for Halloween, attempting to investigate what's going (spiritually) wrong with an old New England family that takes up a farm near the woods. Theology ensues. Hold onto your hat-buckles!* Audio Cited: Dialog clips from the movie The Witch. One slightly edited for time compression. Twilight Zone theme sampled as done by The Monterey Radio and TV Philarmonic Orchestra. Twilight Zone disco sampled as done by The Manhattan Transfer. Theme Song from Patrick messing around on his guitar. Clinking noise from our coffee cups hitting each other. * At least half myth, but I [Dan] couldn't resist the joke.

Dan and Patrick discuss their long summer absence. Then, they explore Baby Driver, a stylish fast-car movie from Edgar Wright with a motif of "musical realism" and a strong undercurrent of desire and freedom. [Image cropped from an image courtesy Baby Driver press kit.]

Kendrick Lamar’s music has always sparked debate. In fact, some negative press coverage has made it into his newest album, DAMN. On this record, Kendrick focuses on identity — not only the black identity in America, but on the question “who am I?” He finds himself trapped between competing narratives, and explores stark contrasts; tracks include PRIDE. and HUMBLE., LOVE. and LUST.  On this podcast, Dan and Patrick discuss how underlying these contrasts are Lamar’s desire for LOYALTY., authenticity, and LOVE.  Content advisory: this is a hiphop album. It contains swearing. So does the podcast.

If you've listened much to Sufjan Stevens, you know that his music can tend towards the bizarre. His lyrics draw heavily on mythology of various types. On this special audio essay, Patrick asks "What is Sufjan doing with mythology?" The episode explores music from many of Stevens' albums, Roman Mythology, Christian traditions, and even The Tree of Life in search of an answer.

Patrick and Dan explore mercy and redemption in McDonagh's dark comedy / comedic tragedy of two hitmen hiding out in Belgium when a job goes wrong. If you're skipping the spoilers, the spoilers start at approximately 16:30 and the end banter (including portmanteau game solutions) starts at 31:21. Theme music by Patrick. Clips are from In Bruges, artfully selected by Dan to avoid the swearing (despite his banter to the contrary.)

Patrick and Dan attempt to get at the artistic and cultural "point" of science fiction and even attempt to support their ideas with examples, like seventh-graders writing an A- five-paragraph essay. Along the way, the two discuss numerous books and movies and the philosophical/ethical themes found in each. Music in this episode, in order: "Theme Song" by Patrick Tomassi "Sinequanon" by Hybrid, Wider Angle (Special Edition) "Mombasa Suite" by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, Halo 2 OST "Surf" by Yoko Kanno, Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex OST "Torukia" by Yoko Kanno, Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex OST "Theme Song" by Patrick tomassi

The newest podcast has finally "arrived," haha. This time, Patrick and Dan investigate the symbolism and meaning of a movie all about language, communication and meeting new people. Also, a couple of non-portmanteaus for your guessing pleasure.

Dan and Patrick take a trip to 1950s Hollywood with the Coen Brothers in their 2016 gem "Hail, Caesar!" Along the way, they talk about psuedo-religiosity, comedy, and communism!

What does an indie folk musician from Portland have to do with a dark Southern novelist like Walker Percy? On this episode, Dan and Patrick tackle Kyle Morton's haunting new album What Will Destroy You, which explores the themes of sex and death in a profound and at points religious way. Music by Kyle Morton, released by Typhoon Music, LLC, copyright 2016, all rights reserved, used with permission.

Dan and Patrick delve into Martin Scorsese's new film "Silence," starring Andrew Garfield. The film, which is based on a novel by Shusaku Endo, deals with the persecution of the Japanese Christians in the 17th century. Spoilers begin 22:43 - end 43:38

Patrick and Dan get leisurely by delving into the work of Josef Pieper, and discuss whether "useless" activities actually make us more fully human. (Spoiler: They do.) Sampled in this episode: Mistabishi - View from Nowhere Typhoon - The Sickness Unto Death Sam Rocha - Rest in You

Patrick and Dan venture into the world of marvelous magic with surgeon-turned-sorcerer Doctor Strange. It's a pandora's box of philosophical implications and character discussions just waiting to be opened!

Dan and Patrick venture again into the town of Hawkins, Indiana to dive deeper into the philosophy and mythic connections of the Stranger Things universe. Theme music written by Patrick Tomassi, and sound samples came from the Stranger Things soundtrack.

Patrick and Dan visit the small town of Hawkins, Indiana on their cursory look at why the Netflix series Stranger Things is just so good. Our philosophical critiques, which require substantial spoilers, will be in the next episode.

Dan and Patrick journey to "Amerika" with Young the Giant to learn about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Patrick and Dan attempt to calculate the cyber-spiritual themes in Big Data's addictive album 2.0, and compute its composers' and collaborators' concerns about modern technology, connectedness, and digital fakery vs. analog authenticity.

Dan and Patrick tackle 'Hadestown,' Anais Mitchell's incredible folk-opera turned stage musical based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydices.

Patrick and Dan delve into the new movie release Hell or High Water, with an eye to the themes of modern malaise, religion and justice "versus" mercy. But we don't dive too deep, because there are spoilers in the deep.

Dan and Patrick talk Journey (the game, not the band) by thatgamecompany, discuss where the 'art' of a game lies, and how this particular work engaged the avowed non-gamer Patrick. We also touch on The Hero's Journey and the problem of genre.

The album 'Reflektor' by Arcade Fire is full of groovy beats and rock and roll, but there's something else. What does it mean to be a "reflektor"? And what does that have to do with our modern spiritual malaise?

Fr. Jonah Lynch's book 'The Scent of Lemon: technology and relationships in the age of Facebook' discusses how technological innovations impact how we relate with one another, ourselves, and the world.

The album 'Supermodel' by Foster the People features real existential questions - Are you what you want to be? Is this the life you've been waiting for? Is the 'self-made man' a myth, or can you save yourself? Between beer and banter, Dan and Patrick attempt to unpack some of these questions and share this great album with you.