Podcasts about Conspicuous

Part 4 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we crown the winner of a March Madness-style tournament featuring our favorite rock artists.  Show notes: Round 3 begins The Smiths vs. Led Zeppelin James Brown vs. Rush Rolling Stones vs. The Cure The Clash vs. The Police U2 vs. The Replacements The Who vs. Talking Heads Tom Petty vs. Neil Young The Beatles vs. David Bowie Round 4 The Final Four The Championship Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 3 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we wrap up the second round of a March Madness-style tournament featuring our favorite rock artists.  Show notes: Round 2 forced some difficult choices The Smiths vs. Spoon Led Zeppelin vs. Prince James Brown vs. Queens of the Stone Age Rush vs. Allman Brothers Band Rolling Stones vs. Beastie Boys The Cure vs. The Afghan Whigs The Tragically Hip vs. The Clash The Police vs. Mark Lanegan Stevie Wonder vs. U2 Sonic Youth vs. The Replacements The Who vs. Beck Talking Heads vs. Dinosaur Jr. Tom Petty vs. Pixies Neil Young vs. Steely Dan Van Halen vs. Beatles Pearl Jam vs. David Bowie Next: The final two rounds Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we wrap up the first round of a March Madness-style tournament featuring our favorite rock artists.  Show notes: Finishing up the rest of round 1 Stevie Wonder vs. the Pretenders Talking Heads vs. U2 St. Vincent vs. Sonic Youth Elvis Costello vs. the Replacements R.E.M. vs. the Who Beck vs. Dire Straits Jimi Hendrix vs. Jason Isbell Dinosaur Jr. vs. Foo Fighters Drive-By Truckers vs. Tom Petty Pixies vs. Fleetwood Mac Neil Young vs. Sleater-Kinney Steely Dan vs. Husker Du Van Halen vs. Blondie White Stripes vs. the Beatles J. Geils Band vs. Pearl Jam Nirvana vs. David Bowie Coming soon: Round 2, with more tough decisions Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey as we talk our way through a March Madness-style tournament of our favorite rock artists.  Show notes: We left out artists that we both didn't like: Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Radiohead, Joni Mitchell, Phish, Iron Maiden Also had to leave off a number of artists just for space considerations: Ramones, AC/DC, Feelies, Breeders, Camper Van Beethoven, etc. Some tough matchups in round 1 with randomized seeding The Smiths vs. PJ Harvey Spoon vs. Courtney Barnett Led Zeppelin vs. Bob Dylan The Cure vs. Prince Elton John vs. James Brown Pavement vs. Queens of the Stone Age Buffalo Tom vs. Rush Allman Brothers Band vs. Soundgarden The Kinks vs. The Rolling Stones Alice in Chains vs. Beastie Boys Bob Marley vs. The Cure Joe Jackson vs. The Afghan Whigs The Tragically Hip vs. Velvet Underground The Clash vs. Iggy Pop Stevie Ray Vaughan vs. The Police Sloan vs. Mark Lanegan To be continued with the rest of Round 1 Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

By Davy Crockett In 1889, "Old Sport" Peter Napoleon Campana (1836-1905) returned home to Bridgeport, Connecticut, after his four-month trip to California. His celebrity status had increased because of news stories across the country about how he beat up the unscrupulous race manager, Frank W. Hall (1860-1923). During his ten-year ultrarunning career thus far, he had competed in at least 42 races, including 24 six-day races. As he did each summer, Campana took time away from racing, but frequently made appearances at local sporting events, including foot races. New book! Old Sport Campana: Ultrarunning's Most Popular and Amusing 19th Century Runner. As I researched for these podcast episodes, I realized that I had enough content for an entire amusing and interesting book. This episode previews chapter eight of the book. To read the entire story of Old Sport, get my new book on Amazon. In July 1889, a policeman, George A. Parker (1853-1926), took a bet to walk from Hartford, Connecticut to New Haven, Connecticut and back, 72 miles in 26 hours. He walked with a young man, Fred Robertson. They finished at Dwight Mitchell's Saloon in 24.5 hours. “There was quite a crowd in the saloon awaiting the coming of the pedestrians. Conspicuous among them, both on account of his appearance and his senile garrulity, was Old Sport Campana. This old, broken-down warhorse wanted to bet he could cover the distance in sixteen hours. Then he took several turns up and down the long room to show his skill as a pedestrian.” He found no takers of his bet. Parker and Robertson received quite an ovation. Campana published a boxing challenge to the world. “I, Napoleon Campana, alias Old Sport, hereby challenge any man in the world 61 years of age, to fight to a finish, London prize ring rules, for the sum of $500 a side. If this challenge is not accepted, I claim for myself the title of champion of the world.” No one took up the wager, so he must have become the champion boxer of the world. He next issued a challenge to race any man over 60 years in a 100-mile race. Campana was actually 52 years old. It would not have been a fair race. It September 1889, Campana announced that he was in training for his “farewell race in America,” a six-day twelve-hours-per-day race to be held at the Polo Rink in New Haven, Connecticut. Would it really be the last race of his career? He was asked how he made a living. He replied, “I don't work for a living young feller.” He demanded $250 from the race manager, James L. Meenan, to start in the race but was refused. He left the rink in disgust. Alfred Elson Campana returned later as a spectator and sent a gift to his Connecticut rival, Alfred Elson (1836-1900), who was in the race and was the same age as Campana. It was a cabbage with $5 rolled inside it. “Elson declined to carry the cabbage around the rink, so Sport stuck it on the end of a board and dogged him around the track, holding the cabbage over Elson's head.” The Street Peddler In October 1889, Campana was hired to sell peanuts at the Danbury, Connecticut Far by Orin L. Bronson (1827-1909). Sales went very well. Bronson claimed that Campana skipped out of town with all the money and intended to have him arrested if he could find him. Campana went to Winstead, Connecticut, where he competed in a five-hour race and came in third with 19 miles. In December 1889, he was seen watching a ten-mile walking race in New Haven. Campana was a sly businessman where the saying “buyer beware,” really meant something. In early January 1890, he dropped into a Bridgeport saloon and exhibited his fruit. He made a sale for 50 lemons. “While he counted the fruit and placed it in a basket belonging to the purchaser, the old man kept up a rambling talk about his races in the past. He kept his tongue moving at a lively rate until he had counted out 50 lemons. He then received his money with a smile and a ‘God bless you, mister,

This week we get more than a little nitpicky about red bags and punching sound effects after watching 2002's The Bourne Identity. Follow Us! Discord: https://discord.gg/8Xx4yakz26 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebigroompod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebigroompod/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebigroompod/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebigroompod.bsky.social Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thebigroompod  

"Thenceforth they are no longer isolated individuals, but a power conspicuous from the distance whose actions serve as an example; when it speaks, people listen...."This week, I'm reading selected quotes from Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville. Published in 1835. Note: his use of the word association is our current word for nonprofit.Reflection questions:How are we sharing the impact of the causes we serve?  In sharing our impacts, are we welcoming our communities to unite with us and have their power enhanced?How are we showing donors the collective impact we have together by combining our efforts?Reflection on quote:In this time of anxiety, let us not forget the power nonprofits have to create purpose. When each of us trying to work independently, we are weak.  We can cause little change and we can't force others to help.  When, however, we combine as nonprofits to meet the needs in our community, our communities listen.  This work has entered the public domain.What do you think?To explore fundraising coaching deeper and to schedule an exploratory session, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about bad songs from good artists.  Show notes: Songs we hate by artists we love Phil's #6: U2 makes a misstep Bono's talking tough Jay's #6: A #1 hit from Cheap Trick featuring outside songwriters The power ballad became huge for hard rock bands Phil's #5: AC/DC hits it big after losing their singer Jay's #5: When the biggest band tries to get weird Phil's #4: When GNR decided to cover Dylan They had lots of bad covers Jay's #4: When Aerosmith hit #1 with a soundtrack ballad Late-period Aerosmith is tough to take Phil's #3: The Smiths get preachy about animal rights Let's hear it for Bovine University Morrissey with ham-fisted lyrics about vegetarianism Jay's #3: R.E.M. had a couple of stinkers A version of the song ended up on Sesame Street Phil's #2: Punk rock upstarts go acoustic Green Day ended up becoming very mainstream Jay's #2: Bowie and Jagger with a very '80s abomination of a cover Video premiered during Live Aid Phil's #1: A definitive low for the Police at their most successful time Andy Summers wrote some bad songs every so often Jay's #1: Genesis with an all-timer of an offensive song The video alone is brutal Blame it on Mike Rutherford   Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about bad songs from good artists.  Show notes: Songs we hate by artists we love Jay: Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" is so whiny it turned me off the band for a few years Songs you hate vs. songs you're sick of hearing Phil: Nirvana had some dumb songs Phil's dishonorable mentions: Songs from Bowie and Jagger, Beck, XTC, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, the Cars, Bob Seger  Phil bashes the Brits  Jay's dishonorable mentions: Songs by Soundgarden, Van Hagar, Rush, U2, Lou Reed Sammy Hagar's lyrics are...something Phil's #10: One of the Stones' bigger hits Jay's #10: Zeppelin goes honky tonk with meh results Phil's #9: Frat boy antics from the Beastie Boys Jay's #9: Andy Summers let his freak flag fly in the Police Phil's #8: The Dead goes disco with some rough lyrics The late '70s saw lots of rock acts try disco Jay's #8: Macca had some missteps, including his first teamup with MJ Phil's #7: The Beatles stumbled with an avant garde instrumental Maybe it was the drugs  Jay's #7: Dee Dee Ramone tries rapping with hilariously bad results To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite concerts.  Show notes: Our top 10 concerts in no particular order Phil: Banged up and seeing his first Dead show in Foxborough in 1989 The show is popular with Dead fans Jay: Caught Mike Watt backed by the Foo Fighters in their first Boston appearance in '95 Phil: 12 days after that Dead show, saw the Who at the same venue A 3-hour show for the 20th anniversary of Tommy Jay: The one area appearance by Them Crooked Vultures in '09 Supergroup with Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones Phil: McCartney at Sullivan Stadium in 1990 The tour book phenomenon Jay: Two shows in one night--The Amps followed by Mighty Mighty Bosstones Phil: U2 show on St. Patrick's Day '92 in Boston, Achtung Baby tour "Put it in H" Jay: Also a U2 show; September 1987 at the Boston Garden Phil: Dylan at Endicott College in October 1992 Tickets purchased at a local jewelry store Dylan almost didn't play because a heater wasn't working on stage Jay: Electric performance from Nick Cave's band Grinderman at House of Blues Phil: Pearl Jam at the Orpheum in April 1994 A few days after Cobain's death Jay: Front row at the Orpheum for Sugar, November 1994 Bob Mould's last tour with Sugar Phil: Neil Young at the Wang Center in 2018 with Jay Neil was solo, telling stories between songs Gotta see some of these older artists while they're around Jay: Pearl Jam in April '92 at tiny club Axis Just before PJ blew up Phil: Dead & Co. at Fenway in summer '23 $60 cheese pizza  Jay: Last month seeing Sloan in Toronto with my daughter Played their first album front to back Only concert I've ever seen in Toronto Phil: Phish playing third show in three nights at Mansfield Jay: Ty Segall at the late lamented Great Scott in 2014 So loud the floor was shaking Jay: No issues with seeing shows by myself Phil: Goose at MGM Fenway last year Played lots of covers, including the odd 36-minute jam Jay: First time seeing the Tragically Hip at the Paradise in April '91 About 25 people there, but the band killed it Saw the band many times after that Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite concerts.  Show notes: Cold weather running tips What makes a great concert? Small shows vs. stadiums Hard to pare down the list Limited to one show per artist Good idea for a sequel involving a time machine Phil leaned toward larger shows Didn't include: R.E.M., the Cure, Sleater-Kinney, Drive-By Truckers, Tedeschi Trucks Band  Jay: Prefer the intimacy of club shows We were at the same shows before we knew each other Phil: First concert was Van Halen in 1986 Setlist.fm is a great resource MTV's Saturday Night concerts Jay's first show was a festival show in Kingston, NH with Cheap Trick, Ratt, Twisted Sister and Lita Ford in 1984 Jay: Not a fan of festival shows anymore Adventures in seeing Rush Jay: Didn't see R.E.M. when they played my college  Other favorites: PJ Harvey, Hot Snakes, Lollapalooza '92, Afghan Whigs, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Drive-By Truckers, Alice in Chains/Screaming Trees, Peter Gabriel, White Stripes, Hold Steady, Mission of Burma, Gord Downie To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Demonstrating Dr. Barnhouse's acute understanding of Romans and his heart for effective preaching, these messages skillfully and reverently expound even the most difficult passages in a clear way. Dr. Barnhouse's concern for a universal appreciation of the epistle fuels this series and invites all listeners into a deeper understanding of the life-changing message of Romans. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/791/29

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024. Show notes: Our top 10 albums of the year Shout out to Rock P's top 20 out of 10 countdown JB's #10: Triple album tribute album for Jesse Malin, an underrated songwriter JK's #10: J Mascis incorporates hot guitar solos into a mostly acoustic album JB's #9: Hot collection of bangers from Cloud Nothings JK's #9: Farewell set from Toronto noise rockers METZ  JK's #8: Angry breakup album from Fake Fruit Coming up on the 5th birthday of Parcheesi Redux radio, SITG hit 11 this fall JB's #7: Retro '60s sounds from Sharp Pins JK's #7:  Philly indie rockers return with in-your-face collection JB's #6: More great SF indie bubblegum pop from Lunchbox JK's #6: Power pop scorchers courtesy of Daniel Romano's Outfit Reminiscing about ER and One Tree Hill JB's #5: Peel Dream Magazine delivers peaceful indie pop JK's #5: Dublin indie rock act Fontaines D.C. with commercial breakthrough JB's #4: Dog Day with economical set of bangers JK's #4: Slacker alt-country with hott lead guitar by MJ Lenderman JB's #3: Another Slumberland slacker indie pop success with Neutrals JK's #3: Indie supergroup the Hard Quartet with Malkmus and Matt Sweeney JB's #2: The rare Johnny Foreigner album that isn't #1, but it's still pretty great  JK's #2 and JB's #8: Triumphant return from the Cure after 16 years JB's #1: Chime School with the peak summer hang soundtrack JK's #1: A November release from Kim Deal is a terrific reflection on loss First solo album after 37 years in the music biz Looking forward to 2025 releases from Hallelujah the Hills, maybe more Johnny Foreigner, Horsegirl, Mogwai Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024. Show notes: The 16th annual year in review  First one was in 2009 Cybertrucks are dumb Self-driving cars are also dumb Taylor Swift just ended a monster tour Music is a dead-end business for most Spotify sucks Country music is huge Breitling: There are some good underground country artists A good year for Tracy Chapman Social media landscape is shifting Lots of big music deaths: Quincy Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Albini, Paul Di'Anno, Greg Kihn, Karl Wallinger Getting out to some rock shows: Hallelujah the Hills, Nuggets tour, Gang of Four, Hoodoo Gurus, Sloan in Toronto Breitling's honorable mentions: The TV show The Bear, Bug Club's song "Quality Pints," Fontaines D.C.'s "Favourite," Tsunami box set, Spectres, Kal Marks Kumar's honorable mentions: Dale Crover, Buffalo Tom, Ekko Astral, Jack White, Ducks Ltd., Mary Timony, Los Campesinos  To be continued  Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

After years of making bloody, adult, violent video games, the Danish video games developer we're talking about today decided to make something that they could play with their kids. We're going back to 2009 to look at a third-person action-adventure game featuring some small shinobi. We're talking Mini Ninjas.On this episode of Stealth Boom Boom, we take a look at the origins of Hitman developer IO Interactive and how that series influenced their family-friendly game. We also discuss the perceived target audience for this, and an animated series that reminds Adam of fake merchandise.Here are some of the things you're gonna hear us chat about in our review: memorable box art; samurai with impeccable eyesight; turning into a chicken or bear or an oddly-faced monkey; being spotted in the long grass; a discussion on whether you kids of 15 years ago liked being sneaky; being rewarded for murder and thus punished for playing stealthily; boring button-mashing combat (or something slightly different for those on Nintendo Wii); stopping time for a completely over-powered kill move; large, sparse areas of linear levels; a nice enough world to be in; Hiro's friends feel pointless; Windy Pants and their absolutely outrageous farts; repetitive QTE boss battles; a story that's merely there; and The Worst Witch.After all that, we take you through what some of the critics were saying about the game around the time it came out, and then we give you our final verdicts on whether Mini Ninjas is a Pass, a Play, or an Espionage Explosion.For those who would like to play along at home, we'll be discussing, reviewing and dissecting Rogue Warrior on the next episode of Stealth Boom Boom.IMPORTANT LINKS TO THINGS

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite instrumentals.  Show notes: Phil's #8: A jazz-funk classic out of Scotland? Jay's #8: Powerful surf rock from the Pixies Phil's #7: The Commodores with an early funk workout Jay's #7:  Dick Dale hit that was revived decades later in Pulp Fiction Song originated in the 1920s Phil's #6: Instrumental from Phish that evolved in the live setting Jay's #6: A sweeping song from Bowie's Berlin period Bowie switched genres and sounds with ease Phil's #5 and Jay's #3: A revolutionary moment for guitar heroics Edward Van Halen changed the game for rock guitar and hard rock Jay's #5: Hendrix blowing minds in the early morning hours at Woodstock Turning the national anthem into a protest song Phil's #4: Music mogul with a horn-driven dance song Sampled by Notorious B.I.G. Another horn-based song by Chuck Mangione went to #1 in '79 Jay's #4:  Iconic full-band instrumental off Zep II Killer riff combined with Bonham's monstrous drumming Phil's #3: Elton John with the first part of a two-part suite  Metallica did a great cover earlier this year Phil's #2: Tedeschi-Trunks Band with extended instrumental from experimental project Jay's #2: Concise, virtuosic classic from Rush's best album Phil's #1: Iconic song released by the Allman Brothers Band after the death of their ace guitarist Dickey Betts played song with two fingers as a tribute to Django Reinhardt Jay's #1 and Phil's #10: Epic, emotional guitar piece by Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic J Mascis did a great cover on Mike Watt's 1995 solo album Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Conspicuous by their absence throughout most of this run, the villains of the Rogues Gallery return to menace the Flash. But Mark Waid (and newly credited co-writer Brian Augustyn) put the main focus back on the dynamic between Wally West and Linda Park, as they argue about how much information to reveal to the public about an impending global disaster, negotiate the Flash's exile from Keystone City to his new home turf of Santa Marta, California, and find their commitment to each other put to the ultimate test when the devil Neron comes looking to make a deal. We'll also examine some side projects looking at Wally's relationship with some of his superhero peers: Dick (Nightwing) Grayson and Kyle (Green Lantern) Rayner.TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of fictional presidential election. Discussed in this episode: The Flash #119-129, plus Flash/Green Lantern: Faster Friends #1-2, Flash Plus Nightwing (1997), and other stories.Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/ironageofcomics

1 Timothy 6:1-2

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite instrumentals.  Show notes: We're feeling goooood. What makes a good instrumental? Jay: I like the musicians in Red Hot Chili Peppers Not as many instrumentals made now as there used to be  No jazz instrumentals included in our lists Phil's bubbling under picks: Booker T and the MGs, Bar-Kays, Meters, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana, U2, Rush, Dick Dale, Beatles, Boston, TSOP, Bowie, Pink Floyd  Jay's non-top 10 picks: Rush, Van Halen, Focus, ELO, Pink Floyd, the Who, Iron Maiden, Commodores, Fugazi, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet Alex VH's new book ignores Sammy Hagar Some great instrumentals are TV themes like Barney Miller Jay's #10: The Police with a mysterious guitar exercise Phil's #9: Majestic song from the Who's first rock opera Fans in the '60s didn't know what to expect when bands were melting their faces Jay's #9: Beastie Boys break out the funk To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Children are Everywhere: Conspicuous Reproduction and Childlessness in Reunified Berlin (Berghahn Books, 2024) by Dr. Meghana Joshi engages with how demographic anxieties and reproductive regimes emerge as forms of social inclusion and exclusion in a low fertility Western European context. This book explores everyday experiences of parenting and childlessness of ‘ethnic' Germans in Berlin, who came of age around the fall of the Berlin Wall, and brings them into conversation with theories on parenting, waithood, non-biological intimacies, and masculinities. This is the first ethnographic work by a South Asian author on demographic anxieties and reproduction in Germany and reverses the anthropological gaze to study Europe as the ‘Other.' This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite cover songs.  Show notes: Jay's #7: Ty Segall with a ripper of a Neil Young cover Phil's #6: The live version of a Linda Ronstadt classic Jay's #6: An indie rock all-star band playing covers the Beatles played in their early days Greg Dulli, Thurston Moore, Dave Grohl, Dave Pirner, Mike Mills and Don Fleming Phil's #5: Phish covering the Stones Phish does tons of covers Jay's #5: An unexpected '60s cover from Husker Du Phil's #4: Coltrane with a wild twist on a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Jay's #4: Stripped down version of an English Beat hit by Pete Townshend Phil's #3: Rage Against the Machine's explosive take on a Springsteen folk song Jay: Forgot about Rollins and Bad Brains covering "Kick Out the Jams" Jay's #3: Dirtbombs with a smokin' garage punk remake of Stevie Wonder  Jay's #2: Nirvana's Unplugged show featured several great covers Phil's #1: Epic length cover "Morning Dew" by the Dead Watching old videos from the '60s and '70s to guess how old the crowd members are now Jay's #1 and Phil's #2: Mind-blowing Who cover of little-know Mose Allison song Jay: Live at Leeds is the greatest live album  All four members of the Who at the peak of their powers Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

It's very rare that a presidential candidate leaves a national convention for another city--but that's exactly what happened Tuesday night. I talk with Brian Kilmeade in episode #629 of The ANEZ SEZ podcast...

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about our favorite cover songs.  Show notes: What makes a good cover? Be true to the song, but bring something of yourself to it Jagger and Bowie's cover of "Dancing in the Streets" is godawful In the '80s and '90s, used to get 45s or cassingles (or CD singles) to get B-sides Phil's honorable mention covers: U2, Courtney Barnett, Nirvana, Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Etta James, Beatles, Stones, Bjork, Aretha, Pearl Jam, CSNY, Cowboy Junkies Nirvana's MTV Unplugged has several great covers Zeppelin covered a lot of songs on their early albums, with or without giving credit Jay's honorable mentions: The Clash, Hendrix, Pretenders, U2, Charles Bradley, Thin Lizzy, Bjork, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Living Colour, Soft Cell, Johnny Cash, PJ, Deep Purple, Urge Overkill, Violent Femmes, Anthrax, Breeders, Cheap Trick, Malkmus and Elastica, Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age Phil's #10: Stevie Ray Vaughan takes on a guitar god's classic Jay's #10: Dinosaur Jr. makes a Cure song their own Phil's #9: Zeppelin's first album features a cover that was previously done by Joan Baez Judas Priest also covered a Baez song Jay's #9: A signature Blondie song was actually a cover Phil's #8: A timeless classic from the late '50s by the Flamingos Jay's #8: Sinead O'Connor made the definitive version of a Prince song Phil's #7: Faces with a powerful Temptations cover To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of the 2010s.  Show notes: Phil's 2016 #1: Drive-By Truckers with a political statement in a divided year Jay's 2016 #1: The final act of Bowie was a masterpiece Phil's 2017 #1: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile join forces Jay's 2017: #1: Strong second act from the Afghan Whigs Phil's and Jay's 2018 #1: Cathartic blast of political anger from Superchunk Phil's 2019 #1: David Berman's final album as Purple Mountains Real talk about people dealing with tough issues  Shocking deaths over the last decade Jay's 2019 #1: Sarcastic pop-punk excellence from Toronto's PUP Phil's 2020 #1: Jason Isbell deals with ghosts on his 7th album COVID memories Jay's 2020 #1: Topical protest hip hop from Run the Jewels Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of the 2010s. Also, happy 18th birthday to the show! Show notes: Wrapping up our year-by-year look at rock music starting with 1970 Each of us picking a favorite album for each year from 2011-2020 Phil's 2011 #1: Bluesy collection from Tedeschi Trucks Band  Susan Tedeschi grew up in New England Jay's 2011 #1: Concept album by Toronto's Fucked Up Phil's 2012 #1: Punchy punk rippers from Parquet Courts Neil Young and the art of the 15-minute song Jay's 2012 #1: Ty Segall Band with a heavy garage rock/psych sound Phil's 2013 #1: Laid-back slacker jams from Philly's Kurt Vile Jay's 2013 #1: An epic Queens of the Stone Age album written after a near-death experience Phil's 2014 #1: TV On the Radio's last album and first since bass player died Jay's 2014 #1: Expansive tour de force from Parquet Courts Phil's 2015 #1: Courtney Barnett combines conversational lyrics with hot guitar Jay's 2015 #1: Jeff Rosenstock delivers a pop-punk masterpiece On being the old guy at rock shows Next time: 2016-2020 Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: JB's #6 and JK's #7: Philly's Mannequin Pussy is a wide-ranging delight JK's 6: Excellent jangle rock from Toronto's Ducks Ltd. JB's #5 and JK's #3: J Mascis with a laid-back winner of a solo album Let us know if you want to be in the studio audience for the year-end wrapup JK's #5: A more electronic effort from St. Vincent The limited amount of media attention given to albums now How do current artists measure success?  Remembering weird synth pop from the early '80s Fewer barriers to entry, but fewer ways to get your music in front of people JB's #4: Another great Slumberland release from Lunchbox, featuring folks from Hard Left JK's #4: First release in 14 years from NYC art rockers Les Savy Fav JB's #3: NH-based act combines post punk with many different genres JB's #2: Johnny Foreigner returns with EP previewing their upcoming album JK's #2: METZ adds catchiness to their noise rock  JB's #1: Political swipe at gentrification from Neutrals Anticipated albums: Fontaines D.C., Sunset Rubdown, Johnny Foreigner, Chime School, Peel Dream Magazine, Jesus Lizard, Horse Jumper of Love, Los Campesinos, Osees JK's #1: Hot collection of power pop rippers from Daniel Romano's Outfit Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Jay Breitling about our favorite music of 2024 so far. Show notes: Crazy stuff going right as we started recording Concert tours getting canceled because of poor ticket sales (Black Keys, JLo) The phenomenon of Taylor Swift Vinyl is selling well, but half the people who buy it don't own a record player Another factor in the concert business struggles is the high price of tickets Apparently Gen Z loves dream pop Spotify accuses Hallelujah the Hills of gaming the system The Legend of Doo Doo Brown JB's honorable mentions: The Bret Tobias Set, Bug Club, Fontaines D.C., Ducks Ltd., Bedbug, Umbrellas, Torrey, Waxahatchee, Shellac, Buffalo Tom, Les Savy Fav, Pedro the Lion JK's honorable mentions: Cloud Nothings, Boeckner, Redd Kross, Mdou Moctar, IDLES, Plus/Minus, Bodega, Kim Gordon, DIIV JK's #10: Mary Timony's first solo album in 19 years JB's #9: Dope Yeti is the nexus of Beck, Dylan and GBV JK's #9: A quieter, more Americana-focused album from Buffalo Tom JB's #8: Strong modern shoegaze release from DIIV JK's #8: Second album from the Smile is an acceptable Radiohead substitute JB's #7: Cloud Nothings keep cranking out great albums To be continued  Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. Show notes: Black Keys cancel arena tour after way overestimating their popularity Phil's #5: Black Keys establish their popularity with poppier blues sound Phil's and Jay's #4: Superchunk returns after a nine-year break with an energetic pop-punk ripper Phil's #3: Lo-fi psych from Philly duo Reading Rainbow (now called Bleeding Rainbow) Jay's #3: Nick Cave returns with his harder rocking Grinderman project Phil's #2 and Jay's #5: More rock-oriented album from Drive-By Truckers Jay's #2: Politically-driven melodic punk from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists  Phil's #1: Neil Young with a solo effort with a lot of guitar effects Jay's #1: Titus Andronicus with your typical epic Civil War-meets-modern-day NJ concept album  Jay: Titus Andronicus is one of my favorite current bands  Favorite songs: "Hitchhiker" (Phil), "Theme from Cheers" (Jay) Next time we get together, we'll sum up the decade of the 2010s Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Amber Morgan, CPA with Mohr CPAs. In the wake of tax season, Amber and I run through some of the easy and conspicuous action items that you can take proactively over the year that not only will have a positive impact on your overall tax planning, but also make for a happy and productive CPA-client advisor relationship.   One additional PSA that Amber thought of post-recording as it pertains to extensions: filing an extension is not a bad thing. You'd rather file an extension and make sure that your CPA is working on your taxes with a fresh set of eyes (and morale) rather than stressing and hurrying to get your return filed at 11pm on April 14th. Nothing bad happens when you file an extension (as long as you've paid the amount owed, as Amber explains in further detail in the episode). But mistakes can happen if a return is rushed out the door if for no other reason than to get it filed prior to April 15th. If you do file an extension, just don't sit on it until the fall when you're right back up against the actual deadline.   As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our monthly “planning life on purpose” newsletter that's filled with tips and ideas to help you plan your best life, on purpose. You can also set up a Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we serve in the capacity of a personal and professional CFO: helping OD practice owners around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions both in and out of their practice to ultimately help them live their best life on purpose. You can also check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. Lastly, if you're interested in learning more about the upcoming launch of the 20/20 Money Membership, please check out the link in the Resources to learn more about what we have in store for you!   And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Amber Morgan.   Resources: 20/20 Money Community Information To learn more about The OD Mastermind Program, please email Podcast@integratedpwm.com    ———————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2010. Show notes: In 2010, Phil became a dad for the second time A little running talk Kesha had the #1 song in 2010 with "Tik Tok" Phil asking philosophical questions Phil's non-top 5s: Darker My Love, Best Coast, LCD Soundsystem, Foals, Ty Segall, Spoon, Wolf People, Vampire Weekend, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Jay's non-top 5s: Neil Young, Los Campesinos!, Arcade Fire, Black Mountain, Les Savy Fav When artists stop making good albums To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

‘Twas the night before Polin Week, when all through the ton The clowns were up spiralling over moon balls and Frohn In this special bonus episode brought to you from the cutting room floor, we dust off our evidence boards and attempt to piece together Season 3 Part 1 using only a folder of stills, a handful of crumbs and the ramblings of some very tired co-hosts. We'll be debating the skills of a 14-year-old archer, measuring the circumference of ever-expanding sleeves and enquiring just how easy it is to transport full-length mirrors to country estates. (Asking for a friend-to-lover.) And as Lord Wilding's betrayal continues to cut deep, we try to distract ourselves with a moderately lethal game of Kiss Marry Kill. Watch your backs, people of the ton. The Coming Week might be here at last but not everyone can make it to Thursday.* *No fictional characters were harmed in the making of this podcast. (Uh, Injured brothers, bandaged pirates and broken-hearted Marlboro Men notwithstanding.) * Spoiler Timestamps 45:17-46:20 – Episode 1 and 2 spoilers 52:05-52:18 – Episode 2 spoilers * Show Notes Vogue: Bridgerton's Costume Designer Talks Season 3 Bustle: Interview with Luke Newton A Dime Saved: Complete collection of Bridgerton S3 Pt 1 stills Spotify: Rosa Hesmondhalgh interview with Starving Artists podcast * Follow Us Instagram⁠ ⁠ TikTok⁠ YouTube

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2009. Show notes: Jay's non-top 5s: Arctic Monkeys, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Patterson Hood, Alice in Chains, Obits, Eels, Tragically Hip, Brendan Benson, Neko Case, Heaven and Hell Phil's #5: Yeah Yeah Yeahs make foray into dance rock Judas Priest makes good pump-up music Jay's #5: Trippy prog-metal from Mastodon Phil's #4: Neko Case is a force of nature Jay's #4: Art Brut with an entertaining collection of ripping artsy punk   Phil's #3: Slow-burning solo excursion from Patterson Hood Jay's #3: Anthemic punk/classic rock mix from Japandroids Phil's #2: Phish returns after a 5-year break Jay's #2: Jarvis Cocker with the kickass Albini-recorded solo ripper  Phil's and Jay's #1:  Monster supergroup debut from Them Crooked Vultures Jay saw TCV in Boston on their only tour Always cool to see someone from Zeppelin play live Favorite songs: "Angela" (Jay), "Elephants" (Phil) Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Just because we can't see Him doesn't mean God is not at work.  He is working in the ordinary, insignificant, moments of the day-to-day.  We may not be able to discern how He is working until after-the-fact, if that's even possible, but He is.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2009. Show notes: In 2009, Phil had a newborn and was expecting another We had a global pandemic in '09 (H1N1 swine flu) Biggest selling album in the world was by Susan Boyle Black Eyed Peas had a big year U2 had an album out, but didn't make much of an impression on us Phil's non-top 5s: The Dead Weather, Son Volt, Wilco, Jason Isbell, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, A.C. Newman, Titus Andronicus, Deer Tick  To smarm or not to smarm To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Last time we spoke about the beginning of Operation Ichi-Go, the war in the Burma front and the war in New Guinea. Hundreds of thousands of IJA troops stormed countless areas in China. Chiang Kai-Shek was caught somewhat with his pants down, his best men were in Burma, there was little his defenders could do against such raw power. Xuchang fell and soon the Japanese were marching upon Luoyang. Over in Burma the British, Indian, American and Chinese alliance was continuing to both attack and defend. In the north Stilwell led the offensive, while Slim led the defensive in the south. The Chindits fought like lions to defend White City, but ultimately would give up strongholds to seek out new ones. Over in New Guinea the Japanese continued their frantic retreat under heavy pressure from the Australians. As bad as the situation was, the Japanese were in for another nasty surprise in Green Hell. This episode is the invasion of Western New Guinea Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last week we saw the effective conclusion of the Eastern New Guinea Campaign. It was a colossal campaign beginning with the Australian defense along the Kokoda Track, then the blood battle of Buna-Gona, the drive upon Lae-Salamaua, the march north upon the Huon Peninsula and Finisterres, and after taking Madang it was finally over. Yet while the book was closing upon Eastern New Guinea, the book on Western New Guinea was just about to be opened.  The pace of the offensive against the Japanese in New Guinea accelerated greatly in the first half of 1944. This was primarily because General MacArthur feared unless he made quick progress he would lose the reins over where the allies would drive upon the Japanese home islands. MacArthur of course sought to advance upon the Philippines, while the Joint Chiefs favored the Navy's central thrust more so. Despite MacArthur's continuous war against his colleagues and superiors and his continuous complaining he lacked support, he had been provided the means to carry out numerous amphibious assaults that could lead to his ultimate goal. MacArthur's operations against New Britain, Saidor, Los Negros and Manus clearly indicated allied superiority over the Japanese in terms of men, ships and airpower. By April of 1944, MacArthur had nearly 750,000 men under his command. His major components were 6 US infantry divisions, one cavalry division, 3 separate regiment combat teams and 3 special brigades. The Australians were gradually being relegated into a secondary role, but could still provide 5 additional divisions and enough separate brigades to form another 2 divisions. General Kenney's air force had grown so large, they could now mount 200 aircraft raids against a variety of targets with little fear of Japanese retaliation. What MacArthur needed was more and more forward airfields so he could hurl fighters and bombers deeper into the Japanese inner perimeter. In a lot of respects, the Japanese position in New Guinea was all but hopeless. Although they still had more than 350,000 troops in the Southwest Pacific area, many were isolated with little chance of receiving reinforcements or supplies. There was also an enormous amount of confusion amongst the various commands, made difficult by enormous distance and the lack of effective naval power. Overall command of Japanese forces as far as Wewak was technically under Lt General Fusataro Tshima, whose HQ was at Manokwari on the Vogelkop Peninsula. It was Tshima who ordered General Adachi to withdraw his 18th Army over to the Hollandia area. Fortunately for MacArthur, Adachi procrastinated heavily, believing a landing would be made at Hansa Bay. All of the heavy bombing by the 5th air force against the coast near Wewak supported his beliefs. Not too long ago we spoke about Operations Reckless and Persecution, the invasion of Hollandia and Aitape. Admiral Barbey had already departed the staging points and rendezvous northwest of Manus Island by April 20th. The large convoys sailed west from the Admiralty Islands until dusk, whence they turned southwest towards Hollandia. Admiral Mitscher's Task Force 58 was providing escort while also launching strikes against Wakde, Sarmi and Sentani airfields on April 21st. Over the next three days the carrier aircraft neutralized the remaining airpower in the Wakde-Sarmi area. Early on the 22nd, the two task forces separated, with the Persecution Task Force heading southeast towards Aitape and the rest, designated Reckless Task Force, proceeded to a point 20 miles offshore between Humboldt and Tanahmerah Bay. Now the allied troops were ready to hit the beaches, but awaiting them was a large concentration of Japanese…however it was mostly a concentration of Japanese personnel rather than combat troops. While initial attention was focussed on the Geelvink Bay area, the 2nd Area Army command was also concerned over the weak condition of the defenses of Hollandia, which lay just east of the 140th meridian in the 8th Area Army zone of responsibility. An order to dispatch an element of the 36th Division to that sector was issued but was quickly revoked on the ground that it would weaken the defenses of Geelvink Bay without appreciably strengthening Hollandia. A large section of the New Guinea coast between Wewak and Sarmi thus remained practically undefended. General Anami promptly dispatched a staff mission to 8th Area Army headquarters at Rabaul to press for reinforcement of the Hollandia area, and a similar recommendation was communicated to Imperial General Headquarters during December. Two battalions of the 6th South Seas Detachment, temporarily stationed on Palau, were dispatched by the High Command. This force arrived in Hollandia on March 4, but numbered only 240 men, since approximately 1000 men, including the detachment commander, had been lost en route to submarine attacks. No other action was taken, however, since both 8th Area Army and 18th Army, after the loss of Finschhafen, were more immediately concerned with checking further enemy penetration of the Dampier Strait region. Thus roughly 10,000 IJA and 1000 IJN personnel were at Hollandia, most support units led by Major-General Kitazono Toyozo and aviation units from General Inada's 6th air division. When Tsihima ordered Adachi over to the Hollandia area and he procrastinated, this prompted the leader of the 2nd Area Army, General Korechika Anami over at Davao to become concerned. Anami sent his chief of staff over to Wewak to convince Adachi to pull out, but when Adachi finally began withdrawing, he only had two regiment on the trail by the time of the American landings against Hollandia and Aitape. Major General Toyozo Kitazono only arrived in the area 10 days before the invasion and for an unexplained reason never officially took command. This is why Tshima's appointed air officers, Inada ended up being thrown the command. Inada only really had 500 effective combat troops, mostly from the 6th South Seas Detachment. These units belonged to General Anami Korechika's 2nd Area Army, which had been transferred recently from Manchuria to oversee the defense of the eastern Dutch East Indies and western New Guinea, and for the projected and later canceled invasion of northern Australia. Random note, I recently made a Youtube short mocking that canceled australian invasion on my youtube channel, it was a wild idea. Thus Anami's command was now formally around the 2nd, 18th and 19th armies. Lt General Kitano Kenzo's 19th Army had been garrisoning Timor, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Sumbawa, the Banda Sea Islands and some key points in Northwestern New Guinea with their HQ located at Ambon. Lt General Tshima Fusutaro's 2nd Army as I had mentioned was assigned overall defense of Western New Guinea, with Lt General Tagami Hachiro's 36th Division landing at Sarmi and Biak in early March and Lt General Ikeda Shunkichi's 35th Division preparing to come to Manokwari. The 14th Division originally part of the 2nd Army was diverted to defender Palau. Furthermore, to further support  the 2nd Area Army was Vice-Admiral Endo Yoshikazu's 9th Fleet, three southern expeditionary fleets, and the 7th Air Division of Lt General Sudo Einosuke. At Hollandia, the headquarters of Admiral Endo and Generals Kitazono and Inada had arrived at the same time by mid April. Though General Adachi had placed Kitazono in formal command of all units there, the transport commander had no time, as to develop a comprehensive defense plan for Hollandia, thus as I previously mentioned, command really fell onto Inada and Endo. The Japanese would be woefully unprepared for what was to come.  Over at Aitape, meanwhile, there were only a handful of replacements from the 20th Division, along with some naval and support personnel, so the situation looked even wrose for the 1000-man garrison. Preceding the amphibious assaults, Admiral Crutchley's surface fleet was going shell the Tanahmerah Bay area while Admiral Mitscher's carrier planes bombed the waters off the Tanahmerah beaches to explode possible mines, also finishing off the Hollandia airstrips and the remaining aircraft there.  Crutchley's warships picked up their landmarks through the mist as best they could, and at 6sm the roar of 8-inch guns from the heavy cruisers HMAS Australia and HMAS Shropshire shattered the silence of the steaming tropical morning. To this din was added the sharper crack of 5-inch and 4.7-inch weapons from American and Australian destroyers. The fire continued until 6:45, by which time 600 rounds of 8-inch and 1,500 rounds of 5-inch and 4.7-inch ammunition had been expended. As for the aerial strikes, despite the unfavorable weather, Task Force 58 managed to maintain planes on air alert over the Hollandia area since dawn. No enemy aircraft flew up from the Hollandia fields, and the few apparently operational planes sighted on those strips were strafed. In general there were no indications that Japanese defenses or defenders existed in the Tanahmerah Bay area. Task Force 58's scheduled bombing and strafing missions for that region were therefore canceled. Meeting little opposition, LCVP's carrying the first wave of the 19th and 21st Regiment approached Red Beach 2. As the leading wave of LCVP's, approached RED Beach 2, which was obscured by smoke from the naval bombardment, a rocket barrage was laid on the landing area by one Seventh Fleet LCI and two landing craft,, of the 542nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment. Machine guns mounted aboard the leading LCVP's kept up a steady fire against the beach. There was no answer from the Japanese, and the only opposition to the landing was scattered small arms and light automatic weapons fire from points far on the flanks of the beach and from a small island in Tanahmerah Bay. This fire was so quickly silenced by supporting destroyers that the assault waves suffered no casualties before reaching shore. Thus tactical surprise was achieved in Tanahmerah Bay, as the Japanese had only a few lookouts in the sector. General Irving's 24th Division successfully landed and the 3rd Battalion, 19th Infantry, quickly secured the northern portion of the beachhead and immediately dispatched patrols east and north to probe suspected enemy positions. The 1st Battalion, following the 3rd ashore, went into an assembly area to act as local reserve and to make ready to aid in unloading supplies at the water's edge if that proved necessary. The 2nd Battalion, 21st Infantry, took the southern half of Red Beach 2 with similar ease. The 3rd Battalion of that regiment quickly followed the 2nd ashore and sent Company I south to look for the trail expected to connect with Red Beach 1 at Dépapré. Simultaneously, LVT's carrying Lt Colonel Thomas Cliffords 1st battalion, 21st Regiment crossed coral barrier reefs on their way to Red Beach 1. Cliffords men landed completely unopposed and would spend an hour trying to locate the road leading to Lake Sentani and her airfields. Clifford left A Company at the beach while the rest trekked it over the  Dépapré-Lake Sentani trail at 8:37am, still encountering no enemy opposition whatsoever.Moving through fire lanes down which no bullets flew and past pillboxes in early stages of construction, the battalion column reached the village of Mariboe at 1047 hours. Only a few scattered enemy rifle shots had been encountered during this march and the village was secured without opposition. Over three miles by trail inland from Dépapré, Mariboe was the 24th Division's first inland objective. It was evident from scattered Japanese equipment in and around Mariboe that the Japanese had recently evacuated the village not long before the 1st Battalion's arrival. Colonel Clifford  halted his men. Since radio communication with the division command post on Red Beach 2 had been lost, he sent messengers back over the tortuous trail to report progress to General Irving. At the same time patrols were sent toward Kantomé, nearly two miles southeast of Mariboe. They reported few signs of enemy activity along the trail beyond Mariboe. Colonel Clifford apparently did not wait to re-establish contact with higher headquarters but, acting on his patrols' reports, ordered the battalion to push on. Encountering little opposition along the main trail, the unit reached Kantomé about noon. When Irving arrived to Red Beach 2 at 9;30am, he found a major logistical problem had formed at his main beachhead. Behind the narrow beach, a wide, impassable swamp was discover, it covered most of the area that the men had planned to use for the bivouac and supply dump area. Thus supplies soon began to pile up on the beach. This was an especially serious circumstance, for the landing plans had called for moving almost all troops and supplies overland from Red Beach 2 to the road inland. Construction of a road between the two beaches was soon found impracticable and when, after a day and a half of hard work, engineers had succeeded in driving a few yards of road into the hills south toward Red Beach 1, the project was discontinued. The small completed stretch did serve some useful purpose. On D-Day two batteries of 105-mm. howitzers were dragged along the road as far as possible to a cramped position on a little ridge immediately south of Red Beach 2. From this site the howitzers could deliver some fire support for troops advancing inland from Red Beach 1, but the direction of this fire was limited by a number of hills nearby. The same stretch of road also provided dispersal space for a few of the many vehicles which had been unloaded at Red Beach 2 on D-Day. Additionally, a limited dispersal area, rendered inaccessible by a small stream and by an arm of the swamp, was discovered at the northern edge of the beach, and ultimately the 542nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment constructed a road into this space. Artillery, ashore within an hour after the initial landing, was emplaced there to deliver fire on inland targets. But the fill used to build this road stopped the flow of the little stream which had drained the swamp into Tanahmerah Bay. To prevent a rise in the swamp's water level, a drainage canal was cut directly through the center of the beach. This procedure speeded the outward flow of swamp water, lowered the water level a little, and created a small additional dry area behind the beach, but it did not provide sufficient dry land for dispersal of all the troops and supplies scheduled to land on Red Beach 2. Eventually Irvings men found some dry flat dispersal areas behind the beach, allowing the supply shuttles to continue their work uncongested. Colonel Cliffords battalion would make the main thrust for the division while the remainder of Colonel Charles Lyman's 21st Regiment moved over to Red Beach 1. Colonel Clifford possessed little or no knowledge of the situation to the rear other than the difficulties presented by terrain. Ahead, 10,000 Japanese were thought to be concentrated around the airfields. Jangkena was on flat, swampy ground and was not an easily defensible position. Should the 1st Battalion push on to Dazai, also on flat ground, Japanese troops might outflank the unit, cut its line of communications to Dépapré, and destroy it at leisure. If the Japanese bypassed the battalion they could cut off the advance of the rest of the 21st Infantry at any one of the many defiles over the first two or three miles of the trail inland from Dépapré. Colonel Clifford therefore decided to pull his men back to Kantomé for the night, leaving only outposts along the trail east of that village. Kantomé was located near the foot of the Takari Hills, which he thought would present a serious obstacle to any Japanese flanking maneuvers. It was a fortunate decision, as around midnight elements of the 22nd Airfield Battalion had advanced overland around his 1st battalions outposts, striking at their left flank. Meanwhile, General Heavey's landing craft carrying the leading waves of the 162nd and 186th Regiments, supported by rocket fire and by Rear-Admiral Russell Berkey's cruisers, likewise met no Japanese resistance as they landed General Fuller's troops on the White Beaches. Company A of Colonel Harold Haney's 162nd Regiment rapidly secured Cape Pie while Company I of Colonel Oliver Newman's 186th Regiment secured Cape Tjeweri. With Jautefa Bay in hand, Newman's 3rd Battalion was then landed on White Beach 4 in preparation for an advance towards Leimok Hill and Pim. The first objective, Leimok Hill, lay 1,800 yards northwest of Pim. Part of the battalion secured the hill by 1000, and other elements advanced southward toward Pim. That village and its usable jetty were secured, against light opposition, by 1645, while Suikerbrood Hill, on Jautefa Bay south of Pim, was cleared by 1800. The danger that enemy troops atop dominating heights near Pim might make White Beach 4 untenable was over. The 3rd Battalion then established a night perimeter at Pim, extending its defenses along a trail leading west from that village to the point at which the Pim-Hollandia track joined the main road inland to Lake Sentani, thus securing the roadhead from which movements to inland objectives had to begin. Over at White Beach 1, Haney's 3rd Battalion advanced quickly to take Pancake Hill at around 8am, only meeting sporadic rifle fire. After taking the hill, they began pushing up the shores of Humboldt Bay, encountering no resistance as they advanced upon Jarremoh Hill. It seemed clear to the Americans, the Japanese had been taken by complete surprise, not expecting an amphibious assault against Hollandia so quickly, so they had pulled back to the Sentani Lake Airfield sector. Now further south, Haney's 2nd Battalion were advancing to a track that connected Hollandia with Pim, trying to make contact with the 3rd Battalion over at Jarremoh Hill. Meanwhile Newman's 1st Batallion was advancing upon Leimok Hill. Though the men wanted to keep pushing towards Hollandia during the late afternoon, Fuller decided to dig in for the night while warships and artillery softened up the city. When General Anami over at his HQ in Manado heard of the invasion he immediately ordered the 23rd Air Flotilla of Rear-Admiral Ito Yoshiaki to toss whatever he could against the allied surface ships and force along the beaches. He also ordered the 18th army to break through Aitape to rush over and help the Hollandia garrison and for General Tshima to dispatch a regiment force as well to Hollandia. Thus General Tagami got his 224th regiment together for the advance to Hollandia, expecting to get there for early May, while General Nakai's 20th Division continued to close in on Aitape. Anami also wanted to send the main part of the 36th Division to perform a counterattack in Hollandia's direction as he thought it vitally important to delay the enemy as much as possible so a better defense of Western New Guinea could be organized. Yet General Terauchi Hisaichi of the Southern Army declined his request to do so on the basis a counteroffensive would simply denude the already weakened defenses of Western New Guinea. Meanwhile General Doe's Persecution Task Force was carrying out their landing against Aitape. The landings would be preceded by naval gunfire from Captain Albert Noble's Destroyer force, aerial bombardment from escort carriers of Rear Admiral Ralph Davisons Task Force 78 and from General Kenney's air force. Meeting zero resistance and under the cover of a rocket barrage, the LCPR's landed the men of Colonel Francis Mason's 163rd Regiment by 6:45. Despite the lack of resistance, an immense amount of smoke and poor visibility prevented the troops from landing at Beach Blue, and instead they came ashore at Wapil. Just like at Hollandia, they had achieved tactical surprise at Aitape as the Japanese fled in a panic under naval gunfire. Mason's got his 2nd Battalion to swing west and quickly seize the Waitanan Creek while the 1st battalion was being landed. Then the 2nd Battalion formed a defensive position at the Pro Mission while the 3rd Battalion sent patrols east to establish an outpost near the mouth of the Nigia River. Back over at the beaches, General Doe landed some Australian engineers who began repairing the Tadji Fighter airstrip. The No. 62 Works Wing, Royal Australian Air Force, had come ashore at Blue Beach during the morning and had been able to start work on Tadji Fighter Strip at 1:00pm. Repairs continued throughout the night under floodlights, the lack of Japanese opposition and the urgency of the task prompting General Doe to push the work. Although it had been hoped that the strip would be ready for use on D+1, terrain conditions were such that necessary repairs were not completed on schedule. Thus it was 9:00 on April 24th before the Australian engineers, who had worked without break for almost forty-eight hours, could announce that the airstrip was ready. At 4:30pm, 25 P-40s of No. 78 Wing, RAAF, landed on the field, and the balance of the wing arrived the next day. The ground on which the fighter strip was located was so poorly drained that it was not until April 28th, after steel matting had been placed on the field, that it could be used continuously. The works wing then moved to Tadji Bomber Strip to aid the 872nd and 875th Engineer Aviation Battalions. The latter two units passed to the operational control of Wing Commander William A. C. Dale of the RAAF, who, besides commanding the works wing, was Persecution Task Force Engineer. Extensive repairs were necessary at the bomber strip and that field was not ready for use by fighter and transport planes until May 27th and for bombers until early July. While the engineers worked, Colonel Merle Howe's 127th Regiment also landed, while Mason's man expanded the perimeter further west, securing the incomplete Tadji west airstrip and the mouth of the Raihu River by the end of the day. Simultaneously, Colonel Cliffords men continued their advance from Kantomé to Sabron, whereupon, Fuller finally decided to launch his assault on Hollandia, with Colonel Haney's 2nd and 3rd Battalions rapidly moving down the ridge to seize the abandoned town by 11:15am. To the south, Colonel Newman had his 1st Battalion pursue the fleeing enemy, and in the process rapidly secured Brinkman's Plantation and then repelled a very uncoordinated Japanese counterattackby the 6th South Seas Detachment and General Kitazono's 42nd independent motor car battalion. At 8:00am on the23rd the 1st Battalion left its night positions on Leimok Hill and started out over the main track, passing through the 3rd Battalion. The movement was supported by the 205th and 218th Field Artillery Battalions, set up near Cape Pie, and by aircraft from the carriers of Task Force 58. By 9am the 1st Battalion had reached Brinkman's Plantation, about 2,200 yards by trail southwest of Pim. So far, there had been no opposition. Now Companies A and C parted from the main body to patrol northwest up the Borgonjie River. Proceeding to a fork about 2,000 yards upstream, the two companies repulsed a series of unco-ordinated attacks which were launched against the right flank of the 186th Infantry during the afternoon by a Japanese force estimated at 150. The two companies remained at the stream-branching during the night of 23-24 of April, and on the latter day they moved overland southwest to rejoin the main force on the Pim-Lake Sentani trail. Meanwhile General Inada's aviation personnel already at the Sentani airfield alongside those currently retreating there were cut off from their ration and ammunition supplies which happened to be stored near the coast. Facing the hopeless situation of having to conduct a proper defense of the airfields with less than a week's worth of rations, little small arms and machine gun ammunition, no artillery at all and with two different enemy forces converging upon them, General Inada seized full command and led the weak garrison to retreat towards Genjem. Their rear guard was proved by General Kitazono's troops. During that same afternoon, two platoons of Cliffords Company B, leading the advance from Sabron, safely crossed a small stream but soon found themselves in the middle of a well-concealed Japanese ambush on the east bank. Rifle and heavy machine gun fire made the stream's steep banks untenable, and the forward platoons hurriedly withdrew to the west, leaving four dead men behind. In response to this, Irvings artillery and Admiral Mitscher's carrier aircraft began to bomb and strafe the area, but Cliffords B Company was nonetheless unable to break through. An artillery duel emerged during the night keeping the men of the 1st Battalion wide awake. They were also being supplies with great difficulty via hand-carry over the Dépapré-Lake Sentani trail. Fortunately the 24th Division's plans for the Hollandia operation had taken into consideration many of the potential logistic problems that might be encountered in the Tanahmerah Bay area. The division G-4 Section had made a detailed study which had shown that a full infantry regiment could be supplied by hand-carry from Red Beach 2 over the Dépapré-Lake Sentani trail inland as far as Jangkena. When no road connecting Red Beach 2 with Red Beach 1 had been found, the division moved the main supply point to Dépapré, from which the advance inland would be supported. With this change in plans, the G-4 Section undertook new computations and calculated that the hand-carry distance could be extended to Dazai. This conclusion was based on the assumption that adverse weather conditions would not make the Dépapré-Lake Sentani road nearly impassable. On 23 April heavy rains started to turn the road into a quagmire through which struggling men could scarcely carry their own equipment and food, to say nothing of extra supplies for the leading battalion. By evening on that day logistic support of the 21st Regiment had therefore become a major problem. There was no question but that the regiment would have to be supported by hand-carry, for it was estimated that at least two weeks' hard work by engineers would be required before the road from Dépapré as far as Mariboe could be made passable even for jeeps. But the 1st Battalion had already advanced east of Dazai, beyond which point, according to the G-4 estimates, support by hand-carry would be next to impossible. Because of the logistical issues, General Eichelberger decided to make the Humboldt Bay area the principal task force landing site, allowing the 41st division to drive further inland. On the 24th, Newman's 3rd Battalion passed through the 1st and seized the Koejaboe area, only stopping there until the 2nd battalion came over to reinforce the continued advance. During this action however, most of the Japanese continued their retreat towards Genjem unmolested. Over in the west, Irving ordered Clifford to consolidate his forward positions around Sabron and Dazai as he now realized the continued rapid advance inland was no long possible as a result of their hand-carry logistics scheme and the weather was taking quite a turn for the worse hampering air drops. Back over at Aitape, Mason's troops crossed the Raihu and by midday the 2nd Battalion secured the town. However General Doe was dissatisfied with the pace of the westward advance, and he therefore suggested to Alamo Force that the 163rd's commander, Mason be relieved. This step was approved by General Krueger, although the regimental commander remained in control of his unit until 9 May, only two days before the 163rd Infantry began loading for another operation. For the next few days, the 163rd patrolled further inland and would fall into a heavy engagement at Kamti on the 29th. At the Kapoam villages, about twelve miles up the Raihu, elements of the 3rd Battalion encountered the only signs of organized Japanese resistance found in the Aitape area to 4 May. At one of these villages, Kamti, some outpost troops of the 3rd Battalion were surrounded by an estimated 200 Japanese who made a number of harassing attacks on 28 and 29th. These skirmishes cost the battalion 3 men killed and 2 wounded, while it was estimated that the Japanese lost about 90 killed. On the 25th, Colonel Lymann's two forward battalion resumed their march, heading through some dense jungle being met by sporadic enemy small arm fire. They eventually dug in around the vicinity of Julianadorp. Meanwhile Colonel Newman had his 3rd battalion advancing west along the main road to Nefaar while some LVT's transported his 1st battalion over Lake Sentani to a point on the western shore of Nefaar. Neither force faced much opposition and together would perform some patrolling of the Cyclops Drome during the afternoon. Back over at Aitape, Colonel Howe's 127th Regiment finished their occupation of Tumleo, Seleo and the Ali Islands and now were beginning to send patrols east towards Afua. On the 26th, Colonel Newman had his 1st Battalion seize the Cyclops Drome while his 2nd Battalion took some LVTS to capture the Sentani Drome. Shortly after midday both Battalions rapidly secured the airdromes under light enemy resistance. Despite a serious supply situation, Lyman's 1st and 3rd Battalion resumed the advance, only encountering one enemy bunker at Ebeli Plantation. It had been impossible to drop supplies from the air on April 25 and even hand-carrying had been stopped late in the afternoon by heavy rains which had flooded many small streams. Parts of the Dépapré-Lake Sentani trail were now knee deep in water. The two forward battalions were low on ammunition, and they would have to go on half-rations if the supply situation were not quickly improved. But General Irving was again optimistic about the weather, believing that air supply would be successful on the 26th. Furthermore, he had received information which indicated that the Japanese were evacuating the airfield area. For these reasons he considered that a continuation of the advance would not be unduly hazardous. In ordering the advance, the division commander was knowingly pushing his men far beyond the limit at which they could be supplied by hand-carry. If the airdrop should again fail or if track conditions should not improve, one of the two forward battalions would probably have to be echeloned back along the trail to augment the carrying parties, and the advance would probably have to be halted. Should enemy opposition prove stubborn, the forward battalions might have to withdraw, perhaps as far as Dazai, to replenish their meager supplies of rations and ammunition. General Irving was taking a calculated risk which assumed the success of the airdrop and an absence of determined Japanese opposition. By the afternoon of the 26th, the Hollandia Drome was secured after a successful airdrop at Dazai. After this the objectives of Reckless had been achieved. Mop up operation would continue up until June 6th, as Fuller's 41st Division cleared out Cape Soedja and the Cyclops Mountain. They would end up flushing out Japanese on Hill 1000 and Irving's 24th Division sent out patrols west towards Marneda, Demta Bay and Gemjem. By 6 June the they had all killed 405 Japanese and had taken 64 prisoners in the Genjem-Demta region. Many more Japanese were found dead of starvation or disease along the trails in the same area. During the same time period, Eichelberger's task force would develop Hollandia into a major base from which future operations would be support. In the end casualties for Operation Reckless amounted to 124 deaths, 1057 wounded and 28 missing for the Americans. The Japanese suffered 3300 deaths, 661 captured. On April 30th, 7220 Japanese from Hollandia's garrison would assemble at Genjem where General Inada began a gradual withdrawal in 11 echelons towards Sarmi. By May 7th, all echelons departed Genjem for a very long march through some of the worst terrain in New Guinea. Two-thirds of the garrison reached the Tor River by June. It's estimated 93% of their strength would succumb to the deadly jungles, lack of provisions and rampant cases of malaria. Meanwhile to secure the Tadji airstrips against Japanese attacks from the direction of Wewak, Colonel Howe sent Company C by boat to Nyaparake on April 28th where they set up outposts further inland around Charov and Jalup. By May 4th, further patrolling by the 127th regiment had discovered no trace of organized enemy units, thus Operation Persecution was successfully completed. During the operation 525 Japanese were killed, 25 were captured while the Americans suffered 19 deaths and 40 wounded. That is all for the New Guinea front as we are now traveling over to New Britain. After the Battle of Talasea and the area was secured, Colonel Smith reached the conclusion that the enemy was withdrawing as rapidly as possible to Cape Hoskins. He decided to send patrols to Numundo Plantation. A reconnaissance patrol on March 10th found enemy positions at Bola and Santa Monica Plantation evacuated, but came upon entrenched enemy at Garilli. On 11th Captain Andrew Haldane's Company K left Bitokara with orders to proceed to Numundo on a three-day patrol, a time estimate that was to prove too optimistic. Company K reached Garilli to find it empty of the enemy, but just north of Patanga encountered Japanese small-arms, automatic-weapons and mortar fire. For four days the Marine patrol made slow progress, fighting an enemy who made a stand in the heavy vegetation approximately every 200 yards and then withdrew effectively before the advance guard flankers could close in. On the evening of the 16th the company entered Kilu where the Japanese made their final stand. While the two forces battled, a Marine landing craft appeared offshore and as it approached the beach the enemy diverted what apparently was a 75mm field gun from the ground action to the "naval force". In the boat was Lieutenant Colonel Deakin who had obtained permission from Colonel Smith to transport a section of 81mm mortars to Captain Haldane's assistance. Although the Japanese bracketed the craft, they failed to hit it and the weapons were landed without casualties. Shortly after the heavy mortars began lobbing shells toward the enemy, the Japanese broke contact and the Marines reached Numundo 48 hours later without finding the Terunuma Detachment again. The 1st Battalion also set up an ambush at Garu which was productive of enemy dead and prisoners for awhile. Company I replaced Company K at Numundo and in turn was replaced on 25 March by the 2nd Battalion. Inasmuch as the enemy continued to straggle eastward singly and in small groups with little or no communications, patrols were kept busy returning over and over again to the same villages and plantations in hopes of catching unwary Japanese. Such hopes frequently paid off. On the 30th the 2nd Battalion moved southeast from Numundo to San Remo Plantation, described by one Marine as "a very pleasant place." From that point patrols probed westward to the Kulu River and eastward into the Cape Hoskins area as far as Buluma. Overall the patrols saw 3 men killed with 8 wounded while accounting for 151 Japanese killed and 68 taken prisoner. Meanwhile, Matsuda, Komori and Terunuma;s Detachments all were performing withdrawals. Komori dispatched his force to the rendezvous point in successive echelons. He himself left Didmop with the rear guard, back on February 28th, reaching Augitni via Vakan on March 1st. The following morning he started his hospital patients along the evacuation route and sent a detail of 250 men to Bulawatni to help transport provisions. Yet the Marines at Iboki were becoming increasingly troublesome, though quite unaware that they faced anything more than starving stragglers. When Company A, 1st Marines entered Talawaga on the 5th, Colonel Sato felt the hot breath of pursuit on his neck and moved to the trail fork where he assumed command of the combined force. The next morning the Komori Group resumed its withdrawal in a northwesterly direction along the right prong of the trail fork, while Sato prepared to follow with his command on the 7th. At this point the ways of these two officers parted, and thenceforth each pursued his individual course toward the destiny that awaited him. On the 6th the Komori Group, with Major Tobuse's 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry in the lead, covered 16 km's on the trail running northeast from the fork toward the coast to reach what the Japanese called the "North Road." After the first day on the trail, Komori's progress becomes difficult to follow, owing to his use of place names occurring in no other reports or maps. It was slow and difficult at best, because of rain and mud, and the necessity for wide detours to find fords through deep streams and safe passages through or around extensive swamps. His immediate force numbered about 200, and on March 8th he recorded the Tobuse Battalion a half-day's march ahead. He sighted occasional enemy reconnaissance planes, and on the 12th U.S. landing craft fired upon his men as they attempted to cross the Kuhu River, obliging them to take to the jungle and swamps. The broad Via River stopped his force on the 14th. When improvised rafts refused to float, the major and 15 others swam across. The rest, through weakness or timidity, declined to follow this excellent example, and it took two days and a wide detour inland to get the whole group to the right bank. Then, on the 17th, provisions ran out. Thus the weakening men came by painful stages to Kometto (Eleanora Bay) and the welcome coconuts of Linga Linga Plantation on the 21st. But the wide Kapuluk River posed a formidable obstacle to further progress. They tried first to swim the Kapuluk near its mouth, but 18 men of the 2nd Company were swept away and 12 of them drowned, only the captain reaching the far bank safely. A patrol far upstream failed to find any fording point, so the troops spent the rest of the day building rafts. These managed to stay afloat, but broke apart so frequently that another two days were required for the passage. Then came the real heartbreaker on the 24th: they reached Kou only to find the provisioning post evacuated. On the 25th an officer patrol encountered a U.S. patrol, and once more the group had to detour. On the 26th Komori hired a native to guide him to Numundo Plantation, at the eastern base of the Willaumez Peninsula. But evidently the man had a change of heart, for the major recorded next day that, lacking a guide, "we advanced using a compass." They now entered a region of extensive swamps, intersected by another major obstacle: the two-pronged Kulu river. The column got across this stream on the 27th, but lost five more men in the swift current. The survivors emerged from the swamps on the 29th and followed the river southward. On the 31st Komori made his final diary entry, eloquent in its stark simplicity: "We are very tired and without food." Apparently at this point malaria laid the major low. Ordering his men to continue toward Cape Hoskins, he took refuge in a native village, accompanied only by his executive officer, his orderly and a corporal attached to his headquarters. For lack of further diary entries, obscurity shrouds the last week of his life. Most of the Japanese forces reached Malalia by the end of March, but Marine patrols were becoming increasingly troublesome. On the 11th, elements of the 1st Marines landed at Linga Linga, patrolling further inland. Company E landed at the Kulu River mouth at the base of Willaumez Peninsula. There the Marines encountered 4 enemy stragglers, killing three and taking one prisoner. Then they moved westward to Kandoka, where they were joined by two platoons of Company F, brought over by boat. There they established a roadblock, just in time to catch Sato's rear echelon. Second Lieutenant Richard B. Watkins was in command of the trail block. At 9am Watkins led his group inland from the village over some faint trails which he hoped the Japanese main body might be using. The Marines had proceeded about a mile and a half and were about to cross a stream in a sparsely wooded area when they sighted two Japanese standing with slung rifles, apparently resting. Watkins had about decided to dispose of these when they moved off in a northeasterly direction, followed almost immediately by a large body of their compatriots. Lying where the Japanese could easily have spotted them, the Marines counted the 73 enemy soldiers and noted the equipment cited above. Conspicuous among them was a tall, burly officer being carried on a litter. The Japanese were cutting fresh trail through the jungle, and fortunately were too intent on their work to discover the patrol. They made excruciatingly slow progress, however, and Watkins did not dare to move until the last man had disappeared. He then returned with all speed to Kandoka, sending a runner ahead with his report. At the village he met Major Brush who had come over from Yaluiai with one squad on what he had intended as merely a routine inspection. He promptly radioed his command post to send a rifle platoon and a 60mm mortar section to the scene and ordered Watkins to hold the trail block with one rifle squad, one machine-gun squad and two mortar squads while he himself set off with the rest of the troops available in an effort to overtake the Japanese from the rear. Before his own departure that morning, Watkins had sent a six-man patrol under Sergeant Frank Chliek to an inland village some two miles south of Kandoka, right where the Japanese appeared to be heading. The lieutenant promptly dispatched a native messenger there with a warning; then, when firing broke out in that direction, he surmised, correctly, that Chliek had become engaged and took the remaining rifle squad and hurried to his assistance. He arrived to find the sergeant and his men crouched on high ground by the east-west trail with dead Japanese all around them. The volume of fire was intense, the pattern not at all clear. As it turned out, Chliek had stumbled upon the column somewhere near its head and, taking advantage of his superior position, immediately opened fire. Major Brush's force, which had been closing rapidly, was on the opposite side of the valley at this time; hence, at sound of the first shots, had hastened to the scene and struck the Japanese column's other flank. In order to avoid becoming involved in a fire fight with that group, Watkins ordered Chliek's patrol back to Kandoka and followed with his own squad at a slower pace. Brush caught up with him shortly, whereat a counting of heads showed that, miraculously, the Marines had not sustained a single casualty. Here is the aftermath as Watkins recalls it: “On the following morning I took a 20 man patrol through the battle area. We counted 55 dead including 3 officers. It was quite easy to believe that perhaps 20 more died in scattered positions throughout the dense underbrush. The dead were all within a 100 yard stretch of trail. We encountered 2 more Japanese who had evidently just come upon the scene who were sitting side by side staring dazedly at the destruction and did not even turn their heads when we approached.” The burly officer previously observed on a litter proved to be Colonel Sato. Evidently Sergeant Chliek's patrol had struck the enemy column at precisely the point where he was being carried, for the colonel had only had time to leap to his feet and draw his sword to fight back before the Marines' fire riddled him. Seeing their leader fall, those Japanese farther forward took off in mad flight, while those behind were cut off by the converging of the two patrols. Thus perished one of the few Japanese to deserve much credit for the performance of the 65th Brigade on New Britain. Although the rear echelon attacked by the two patrols comprised less than half of Sato's total force, the group, as such, ceased to exist with the death of the leader who alone had held it together. Units split into components, these into smaller parties, straggling eastward over a variety of trails, often hacking their own way by compass azimuth.  Throughout April, the 17th Division continued their retreat towards Rabaul, managed to repel multiple marine patrol attacks around Cape Hoskins. General Sakai's survivors finally got to Rabaul between April 16th and May 15th, erecting the last bulwark of defense for the South Pacific. On April 6th, the journey of another Japanese commander came to an end. The body of the already deceased Major Komori was captured at the San Remo Plantation by the 2nd Battalion, 5th marines. They came upon the outpost, suddenly face to face with a group of four bedraggled Japanese. It was one of those abrupt encounters that allow little time for reflection or deliberation. The flurry of fire that followed killed three of the enemy and wounded the fourth, who promptly surrendered. Komori had apparently died of malaria along the way.  For the 5th Marines, too, was nearing its journey's end, so far as New Britain was concerned. With promotion of the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Buse took over on an acting basis, and General Smith returned to Cape Gloucester to relieve General Shepherd as Assistant Division Commander. Units attached to the regiment followed, and representatives of the Army's 185th Infantry arrived to inspect positions preparatory to replacing the 5th, just as other 40th Infantry Division elements were doing in the Cape Gloucester area with a view toward relieving the entire 1st Marine Division. Last clash of the campaign occurred onthe 22nd of April, when a 2/5 patrol intercepted a party of Japanese, killing 20, including two officers, and suffering the regiment's last fatality on New Britain. Three days later the whole 185th RCT moved into Talasea and San Remo, and at 1530 command of the area formally passed to the Army. LCM's carrying the 1st and 3rd Battalions back to Borgen Bay cleared Talasea at 1630, followed by those carrying 2/5 from San Remo at 2000. The movement was reported complete at 1930 on the 26th, and men of the 5th learned that the 1st Marines had departed this island of evil memory the previous day and that they would follow as ships became available. Soon they would be relieved by Major-General Isaac Rapp Brush's 40th Division, which took responsibility for Cape Gloucester, Arawe and Talasea by the end of April.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Thus Operation Reckless and Persecution were both successful. Now MacArthur had a strong foothold in Western New Guinea seeing the Japanese continued their frantic retreat wherever allied forces seemed to pop up. Over in New Britain, the Japanese were losing formidable commanders as they too were on the retreat, things were simply disastrous for the empire of the rising sun. 

Part 2 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2008. Show notes: Phil's #5: My Morning Jacket changes things up Jay's #5: Big space rock ripper from Black Mountain Phil's #4: Springsteen-inspired indie rock from the Gaslight Anthem Jay's #4: Stephen Malkmus gets jammy  Phil's #3: Tom Petty's early band Mudcrutch gets back together Jay's #3: Sloan with an economical power pop release Phil's and Jay's #2: Dark, inspired record from the Gutter Twins Phil's #1: Brooding classic from Death Cab for Cutie  Jay's #1: The Hold Steady hits an anthemic peak  Craig Finn is an atypical yet terrific frontman Favorite songs: "Stay Positive" (Jay), "I Will Possess Your Heart" (Phil) Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

Part 1 of my conversation with guest Phil Stacey about the music of 2008. Show notes: In '08, Phil became a dad M.I.A. with the Clash fakeout intro Phil's non-top 5s: The Hold Steady, Stephen Malkmus, Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, the Raconteurs, Beck, R.E.M., JJ Grey and Mofro, Sloan, Drive-By Truckers, Black Keys The Kelly Gruber Effect The other Phil Stacey releases his debut album, as did Scarlett Johansson and Bronson Arroyo Jay's non-top 5s: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Black Angels, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Destroyer Green Day was punk until they weren't Phil: Hearing the Kinks for the first time To be continued Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.

EP 583 Continuing a Discussion on The State of Music Consumption

EP 582 featuring a Discussion on The State of Music Consumption

The James R. Thompson Center is the most hated building in the city of Chicago. And it has to be protected. Check out Nathan Eddy's documentaries on The Thompson Center, Helmut Jahn, and more, here: https://vimeo.com/nathaneddy Find Stewart Hicks' youtube channel, with great architectural content (much of it about The Thompson Center) here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYAm24PkejQR2xMgJgn7xwg Visit The Chicago Architecture Center's Thompson Center page here: https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/buildings-of-chicago/building/thompson-center/ Check out: indeed.com/theconstant now to start hiring Get 15% off your MasterClass subscription by visiting masterclass.com/theconstant today! Visit our Patreon here. You too can get ad-free, early episodes, starting now!​​ BUY OUR MERCH, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS! The Constant is part of the Airwave Media podcast network.​​ ​​Interested in advertising on The Constant? Email sales@advertisecast.com to get on board! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us on today's riveting episode of 'The Adams Archive,' where host Austin Adams delves into a medley of current, hard-hitting topics. We begin with an extraordinary event in the political arena: Senator MarkWayne Mullins' open challenge to fist fight a Teamster boss during a Senate hearing. Austin provides a unique analysis of this rare display of raw emotion in politics, examining the intricate backstory of these two figures and the implications of their confrontation. Shifting gears, we explore Elon Musk's bold stance against the 'woke mind virus.' Austin breaks down Musk's recent comments and actions, discussing their broader impact on cultural and corporate landscapes. This segment promises to provide an insightful look into the intersection of technology, culture, and free speech. The episode then navigates the complexities of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Austin offers a nuanced perspective on the recent developments in this longstanding geopolitical struggle. Listen in as he dissects the intricacies of this conflict, including the global reactions and the profound consequences on regional stability. In addition to these thought-provoking discussions, Austin will share his personal experience of being confronted and harassed for his views, offering a candid reflection on the current state of public discourse. Don't miss this episode packed with deep dives into politics, technology, and international affairs. Subscribe now, leave a five-star review, and join Austin Adams on this journey through some of today's most pressing issues in 'The Adams Archive.' All the links: https://linktr.ee/theaustinjadams Substack: https://austinadams.substack.com ----more---- Full Transcription  Adam's Archive.   Hello, you beautiful people, and welcome to the Adam's Archive. My name is Austin Adams, and thank you so much for listening today. On today's episode, we have a lot to catch up on. There's been some wild stuff that's happened over the last week and a half or two weeks since our previous episode, and I'll catch you up on... All of it, at least all of it that I'm interested in. And the very first thing I'm interested in this week is going to be that there was a Senator, Senator Mark Wayne Mullins, who actually challenged a Teamster boss to a fist fight on a Senate hearing of the Senate floor during a hearing. Um, and personally, I think this should probably happen more often as it did.  A long time ago. Uh, so we'll dive into what actually happened in that exchange. The bad blood between this Senator and the Teamster boss, as well as diving into Markway Mullins previous history. Cause this man was actually a MMA fighter. Uh, so probably not the guy that.  You would want to mess with if you were some fat, bald, uh, bald old dude like this Teamster boss was. Uh, so, my money is on Senator Mullins. That's all I gotta say. So we'll dive into that. We'll actually break down some of his MMA fights, um, and dive deeper into the bad blood because it goes back months and months ago where this exchange originally happened that got brought to The Senate floor just a couple days ago,  after we address that, we will also jump into the next topic, which is going to be that there is a overwhelming well, and I guess, yeah, the next article after that, we'll have a few small quick ones. First of all, apparently some people think that white people that are generated by AI look more real than photographs. Uh, so there was a, basically this, um,  statistical study that showed that if people were generated, like if there was images generated by AI and they were white, according to white people, it was harder to decide who was real and who was AI. Which is interesting. So we'll talk about that and how they tried to spin this into somehow AI is now racist, I guess? Hmm. Anyways,  after that, we will dive into another article, which is all about, uh, the majority of Americans taking notice in the rise of tipflation across industries.  And it's all about when you go to every single place ever now, whether they give you service or not, or you're just. paying for gas. It seems like everybody's asking you for a tip, asking you for a handout. I don't think that's how this works. And it drives me nuts. So we'll talk about that. After that, we will go into the police arresting the ex  arresting the  hockey player. I believe this was in the  ECHL, not the East Coast Hockey League, but the European League, I believe we talked about it in the last podcast, but they actually arrested the guy who ended up having his Gate hit the guy's throat and ended up in the death of Adam Johnson.  So we will discuss that, and I still hold true to my thoughts on that. So, uh, I, I don't believe that that was rightful for them to do So. Uh, there was a California team who was suspended from school for wearing, uh, the black, uh, paint on his face during a football game, which everybody all knows what I'm talking about, right under your eyes.  was suspended from school for wearing that because the principal says he was wearing blackface.  After that, we will dive into some of the conversation that was had between Elon Musk and Lex Friedman, including his thoughts on the Israel and Hamas war, leading us into a conversation about a poll that was done around people's support or lack thereof of what is happening by Israel. Then we'll jump into a discussion of, uh, between Theo Vaughn and Dana White. So all of that and more. And at the very end, I have a little interesting tidbit about, uh, the interstellar movie that I thought was interesting. Let's jump into it. But first, go ahead and hit that subscribe button, leave a five star review. I appreciate you being here from the bottom of my heart. I love, love, love doing this for you guys. And I don't ask for much. I don't even give you advertisements.  I'm making nothing off of this conversation right now other than the joy of knowing that you're about to hit that subscribe button. You're about to leave a five star review. And I'll even tell you a story about how I was chased down, harassed after being noticed by some liberal in a bar recently last night, to be exact.  And we'll talk about that. So,  uh, all of that more hit the five star review button, subscribe. That's all I got. And let's jump into it.  The Adams archive.  All right. So the very first thing that we're going to talk about today is that there was a senator who challenged a teamster boss to a fist fight on the Senate floor, only to be stopped by the one and only Bernie Sanders, who would have thought that that man would be the voice of reason,  but let's go ahead and watch this clip. And then I will give my opinion on what happened because.  You probably know my stance. I think they should have thought it out.  First for you here, here is the article. Let's go ahead or the video actually. Let's go ahead and take a look and watch this. Clip together. Um,  and here we  go. So actually I'll read you a little bit about the article because Bernie Sanders is going off here in the background, but it says that a Congress, a congressional hearing devolved into an angry confrontation between Senator and a witness on Tuesday after Republican Senator Markway Mullen of Oklahoma challenged Sean O'Brien, the president of the international brotherhood of Teamsters, otherwise known as unionized mob boss. Uh, To stand your butt up and settle ongoing differences right there  in the room.  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, uh, the chairman of the Senate panel that was holding the hearing yielded at Mullen to sit down as he challenged O'Brien to a fight. Mullen had stood up from his seat at the dais and appeared to start taking his ring off.  Might be a good move to leave it on, actually, I'm, you know, cut him up a little bit. This is the time, this is the place, Moen told O'Brien, after reading a series of critical tweets O'Brien had sent out about him in the past. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults and we can finish it right here.  And here is...  Video for you.  It's quite different, but after you left here, you got pretty excited about the keyboard. In fact, you  tweeted at me  one, two,  three, four.  Five times. And let me read what the last one said. Um, it said, greedy CEO who pretends like he's self made.  Sir, I wish you was in the truck with me when I was building my plumbing company myself and my wife was running the office because I sure remember working pretty hard and long hours.  Pretends like he's self made. What a clown. Fraud. Always has been, always will be.  Quit the tough guy act and these Senate hearings. You know where to find me. Anyplace, anytime, cowboy.  Sir this is a time, this is a place. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here. Okay, that's fine. Perfect. You want to do it now? I'd love to do it right now. Well, stand your butt up then. You stand your butt up. Oh, hold on. Oh, stop it. Is that your solution every poll? No, no, sit down. You  know, you're a United States Senator. Actively. Okay, sit down, please. All right. Can I respond? Hold it. Hold it.  If we can't, no, I have the mic. I'm sorry. This is what he said. You'll have your time. Okay. Can I respond? Oh, no, you can't.  This is a hearing,  and God knows the American people have enough of contempt for Congress. Let's not make it worse. I don't like thugs and bullies. I don't like you, because you just described yourself.  Hold it.  You have the mic. You have time. Make your statement. And let's do this, because I did challenge you, and I accepted your challenge.  And you went quiet. No, I didn't go quiet. was... No, hold on. You challenged me to a cage match acting like a 12 year old schoolyard bully. Hold it. Hold it. No, excuse me. I will say, I will say exactly what you said. Senator Mullen, I have the mic.  You have questions on any economic issues, anything that's said, go for it. We're not here to talk about physical abuse. You brought him here. We're not talking about... Of course I did. And let me tell you, let me show you his hearing, because I want to, I want to expose this thug. To who he is and you're not pointing me. That's disrespectful. All right. I don't care about respecting you at all. I don't respect you at all So hold it. Hold it. No  You don't want to hold it the most all day. Please act it please. All right  This is a excuse me. Mm hmm. This is a hearing to discuss Economic issues. All right, if you have questions for mr. O'Brien or anybody else on what  He has said, go for it, but we're not here to talk about fights or anything else. I'm quoting exactly what he said and say what you want. This is, this is your, this is your witness. You brought it. Let me, I'm, I'm exposing him. You can talk anything you want. So in 2013,  in 2013, O'Brien was suspended by the Teamsters for intimidating your own members. In 2014,  uh, you were, um. Uh,  part of, what would you say, organizing the harassment and intimidation of the top shelf crew? Chef, not chef.  Oh, top, oh, top, top chef, okay. And then, uh, and I think in the reports it says sexual racist and homophobic slurs and death threats. Fourteen tires were sliced and five teamsters were arrested and you said, well, I had nothing to do with it. But however, in that same statement, you said, but if I get called to test file, plead the fifth. This is, this is what, this is a witness you brought in here.  In 2017, you were removed as lead negotiator by then president Hoffa for UPS for your actions. And then in 22, when this guy was elected, what he said after he got elected was he wanted to bring the mob mentality back to the teamsters. This is your guy. And you're obviously going to give him a chance to respond to your questions. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because this is my question. Because you called me out. I didn't call you out. You said any time, any place. That's that. Let's get the record straight. Miss, hold it. No, hold on. Senator Mullen. Do you have a question for the witness? Yeah. Okay, let's let's hear it. And there  you go. Absolutely hilarious  that that's what just went on. But honestly, I like it. I think that, I think that we should probably have more fist fights in the Senate. Just like, If you go back 100 years, 150 years ago, senators were literally dueling in the streets, killing each other. Go back and look at Andrew Jackson. How many duels did that man win? How many fistfights did he get in for arguing about politics, which is should be passionate like that, right? So if this mobs boss, this teamster boss wants to run his mouth on Twitter, and then all of a sudden hide behind Bernie Sanders, when this guy actually wants to do something about it face to face,  that's what we call a coward, right? You want to run your mouth until you're face to face with somebody. Maybe just don't run your mouth. Right? If you're not the big, tough guy that you think you are, maybe don't say anything to somebody who you know nothing about because what it turned out is that this man  was actually an ex MMA fighter. And you're really not an ex MMA fighter, you know, to me is like, you still can fight. Maybe you don't actively engage because the guy's probably like 45, 50, maybe, but he's an MMA fighter, right? You see a little bit collier on this end of there. Right? So, I think this is awesome. I think there should be more fistfights in Senate. I think that the reason that it's shaped like a circle is for everybody to watch as two Senators fistfight or a Senator and a Teamster mob boss who are talking shit on Twitter get together face to face and actually do something about it. Because imagine how much shit would be, how much less shit would be talked on Twitter if you had more people Like Senator Mullins out there willing to actually confront people when they're seeing them face to face.  So speaking of, I'll take a little sidetrack here. Speaking of seeing people face to face, I was at last night, I was at a, uh, business, uh, networking event. Um, I, I do have a life outside of this podcast guys. I do have a family and children to feed. So I do, I am in a professional environment and. In that professional environment, I have to go out and speak to people and promote my business and, uh, build the business and have connections with other people. Now I don't talk about my business very much here because I don't see much of a need to yet. But  in this case, I was walking around doing some networking at a nice bar, had a beer in my hand, and all of a sudden I have this guy out of nowhere go, Austin Adams, the far right. Podcaster didn't expect to see you here. Why are you here, Austin? This is a blue state. You don't belong here. You hate gay people. You hate transgenders. You, you don't agree with this and that, and just. heart straight up harassing me loudly belligerently drunk man who could barely string a sentence together, uh, let alone formulate a proper argument to back up his criticisms of my alleged positions, which he seemed to have wrong more than right, but he also seemed to have followed my stuff for a fairly long time, which is really interesting. Um, if you ever see me out and about, come say hi, uh, I'll shake your hand. I'd love to talk to people. I've had several, several, several people come up to me and notice me just walking around, whether it's an event or, you know, I had somebody come up to me and I talked to for a long time at Jordan Peterson. You know, it's, there's, there's some, I love interacting with you guys. So  if you want to get belligerent and you don't like me, that's fine too. Cause Guess what, bitch? Just like Senator Mullins, I ain't scared. Come up and say hi. Tell me what you disagree with. I'd love to have a conversation with you. So anyways, this guy comes up to me belligerently drunk, starts yelling across this bar at a nice, nice bar  at a nice,  well put together networking event. And, uh, And so this guy follows me around the bar because I just go are you here for business or are you here for politics? I'm confused and Just just tried to walk away from the guy and he follows me follows me follows me and start keeps Yelling belligerent shit at me And so finally I set my beer down and I just turn and face him because this guy wasn't going anywhere and I obviously wasn't in any physical danger with this belligerent  out of shape older man  So, I put my beard down, and I faced the guy, and I go, Okay, what do you want to talk about, man? What is it? What is it? What am I, what do you think about my positions, since you know them so well? First of all, he starts off with the fact that I hate gay people, and don't think gay people should get married. I don't agree with gay marriage. Which...  It is not my opinion. I think gay people should be able to do whatever they want. I think they should get married. I think that the marriage that we have today is essentially a tax write off. And they should be able to have just as much of a tax write off depending on their sexual orientation as anybody else. And honestly, the gays are the homies now.  You have the trans agenda that I think everybody, whether you're straight or gay, can agree with is the problem, not sexuality, right? And this is, you know,  you look at the,  uh, you go into animalistic, uh, Parallels, right? Animal kingdoms. And you look at, okay, there's absolutely, uh, homosexual tendencies within the animal kingdom. But I don't think you see anywhere a hippopotamus throwing on a tutu and putting lipstick on its face and calling itself a rhino.  I don't think that's directly comparable. Um, but essentially that's what it's doing, right? Um,  So, you know, to me, the, the, the gay agenda, the gay whatever, I don't care. Do what you want to do. I totally think that you should have every right that straight people have. I don't think there should be any, I don't know, I think basically, literally, everybody agrees with that, unless you're a super evangelical, you know. Very, very right conservative. Hyper old school conservative. I think basically everybody agrees that gay people should be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as it's not shoving your education about sexual tendencies down my child's throat in school, which you haven't done at all, so nobody's saying shit about that.  Then he goes into about the trans agenda. Right, he starts talking about, oh, you hate trans people, and again, how many times will I say this? I don't hate trans people. I, in fact, think there's probably a certain portion of trans people that I'm empathetic to. I think it's an obvious mental illness that I couldn't imagine dealing with, where you feel stuck in this body that isn't yours. And, and, Again, I think that's maybe a 30, 20 percent of, it probably gets smaller and smaller percentages the day, that actually have legitimate gender dysphoria, where they live in the wrong body according to them. And I can't imagine being stuck in that frame of mind. And I'm sure it's mental torture every day to wake up thinking that you should be this when you're that. I'm empathetic to that.  But I also think that they're being taken advantage of for medical pharmaceutical profits. I also think that, you know, we talk about the 20 percent of actually having gender dysphoria. I think there's about 80, 70, I don't know. I'm throwing fucking numbers out there for you guys. But I do think there's a, there's a larger percentage than not that is doing it for attention. That is doing it because That's the new thing. It makes them important. It gives them a reason to wake up every day and be better than you. That, that makes them feel special on the inside.  And that I have no empathy for you. I, I, I, I don't hate you. I don't have a reason to hate you, but I don't have empathy for you. And I, and then I think there's a smaller subsection of that. That's looking, both looking for attention and then also trying to peddle a pedophilia. Uh, agenda down the throat of children, which is, you know, maybe it's not the majority of that percentage, but who knows, you know, but we see it consistently every day. You see a new thing come out about that. So yeah, those are the people I don't like is the people who think that you should shove the trans agenda, hyper sexualization of children down the throats of, of young children  at a very early age. At really any age, you shouldn't talk to my child about sexual orientation, or gender binary, or this or that, or how to give a blowjob, at all. Because guess what? That makes you a pedophile creep.  And I don't like pedophile creeps. Whether you think you're a boy and you're a girl, or you think that you're a rhinoceros when you're a hippopotamus. I, I just, that's where I stand on the trans agenda, so let's be very clear on that.  And then next he gets into, you know, uh, all these other things that he just assumes my position on and I've said this before, I, I'm much more, more, uh, when it comes to political affiliation, probably more on the side of libertarian than I am on the side of, you know, extreme conservatism. And I think that the government is essentially bad at almost everything that it does. And the more that you give the government, the more that they're going to want to take and that. Most of the government shouldn't exist. That's my position. Um,  but with that comes not intervening in people's lives, including gay people, including, you know,  I just don't think the government should have their hand in things that aren't about  eliminating the golden, or, you know, uh, people from trespassing on other people's body and property. That's essentially where I stand. I, you know, everything else is inflated. There should be some social programs for people who are disabled. There should be some social programs for people who make a lower income, um, who are intellectually incapable of earning a better living. I think there's some of that to be had. Uh, but I don't think that the government is essentially very good at anything that it's ever done, almost ever as a whole. And I think it's comprised of traditionally. And and historically corrupt individuals who are very bad at what they do and only align their positions with where the money That funded them came from  so it's a flawed  system to begin with  so that doesn't really put me on the side of Extreme far right, you know like it's just not where I land and if you think that you'd probably just don't listen enough And you know if you think that are you know? And then this is the thing too because we've seen my opposing opinion several times irk people who think I am And this or I am that  And it's like, I am me. I have my own opinions on basically every topic. I don't align with a political affiliation in the way that I view most things as non political. I don't think trans is a political issue. It doesn't have to do with the government or politics. It's a social issue, and it's, it's a dangerous one, and it's a part of this woke mind virus that we'll listen to Elon Musk talk about in a little bit, and I don't think that's a political affiliation to have a problem with the, the, the mind virus that is Woke ideology, which is permeating across the entire consciousness of American culture, which is killing the once great nation that we were.  That's where I stand on that. So anyways, this guy follows me around and all of a sudden, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, not being hyper aggressive back and I just ask him, are you here for business or are you here for politics? Do you actually know my positions or are you assuming? Because I think... You're wrong on this. I don't think that. I do think this. I, I, you know, something that we talked about abortion and I said, yeah, absolutely. I don't think that the government, I think the government should because he, I said, I'm more libertarian than I am  traditional conservative and he goes, Oh, well, then you must think that, uh, you know, you probably voted this on that about abortion. And, uh, you know, I said, I think that the government should have a place in stopping the ending of human life. And I do believe that a baby in the womb is a baby and is of value and shouldn't be murdered senselessly for your own, statistically speaking, comfort. Or, uh,  lack of maturity.  Again, that's my position. So anyways, that was my, and by the end of this conversation, this drunk man standing next to me, thinking he was gonna come, I don't know what he was thinking he was gonna do, um,  demeaned me personally for having opinions and sharing them and people finding value in them.  Eventually was like, you know what? I actually kind of like you. I'm sorry that I came up to you and did this and that and you seem like a nice guy and you know,  Maybe you'll find that too if you come up to me whether you like me or not But always come up and say hi. I would love to talk to you guys if you ever see me out and about but anyways,  the next part of this topic on Senator  is that,  uh, this feud goes back several months. So let's see if we can find the video here because, um, this feud goes back all the way to, uh, a time where the original contact that they had together. And give me a second. Cause I'm, uh, delaying this because my  connection with my other screen wasn't working properly. Um, there we go. So. The the what essentially happened four months prior to this. There's a there was a video that came out But after this in engagement, so let's watch this one first and then we'll go back to that after this engagement the news crew Caught up to him and had some questions for him in which they asked him about this Engagement and what his thoughts were on it. So let's go ahead and take a look At this,  here's the video.  Well, you should probably ask him that. I mean, he's the one that kept tweeting at us. Uh, we didn't respond until the fifth tweet. And when he said, any place or any time, any place, and you know where to find me, cowboy, I thought, well, this is the time, this is the place, and you don't do that in Oklahoma. You don't run your mouth unless you're gonna answer the call. Well, that might be the question. Was that the place? Was the Senate hearing the right place to challenge someone to a physical confrontation? Well, I'd already challenged him to September 30th. He could have done it then for charity. Um, I said April. They're the, the, um... What's it called? The smoking guns charity for the firefighters and police force. We could have done it then. I've been happy to, but he said, stand up. And so I stood up. Yeah. But what about, I mean, just the idea that fighting as a way to solve a problem, is that  kind of, are you concerned the way the conversation is happening here on Capitol Hill? People's been fighting for a long time. I canings. It was legal to do duels. Um, if you have a difference, you have a difference. I didn't start it. I didn't tweet at him. I didn't go after him. I have no beef with a guy. I mean,  I don't even know the last time I've gotten a street fight. I used to get paid to fight. I'm not, I'm not looking. What do I have? What victory is it for me to beat up O'Brien? That would be a shock, right? Uh, but he said it and I just simply responded. If he wants to call it off and we just go have a cup of coffee, fine. Let's go have a cup of coffee. I have no hard feelings. It's not personal to me. He just challenged me, and I accepted the challenge. Do you regret it? Regret this moment at all? You should probably ask him. I mean, he's the one that said it. I don't regret asking him. You know, he said any time, any place, so. And has leadership talked to you at all about this? No. No, not at all. Have you done any outreach to him at all, or has he reached out to you? O'Brien, meaning, reached out to you afterwards. No, no, no. You know, I ended it and said, if you want to end it here, that's fine. If you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee, I'll sit down and have a cup of coffee. It's not personal, you guys. This is not personal. Nothing personal. It's just he made the challenge, and I accepted it. It's just that simple. What about just the general tension right now on Capitol Hill? Do you feel as though things are, there's more angst than there has been at other times? And is it preventing you from getting things done? I don't, you know, I can only speak for my time here, right? Uh, ever since I've been here, there's always been a little bit of tension. This is a total separate issue. You know, this doesn't have to do with that. This has nothing to do with policy. This doesn't have to do with politics. This had to do with a guy calling me out and I simply responded to it. Uh, that, that's, so I don't think the two are really  comparable. This has nothing to do with me against unions either. I have nothing against unions. I made that very clear at the end of the hearing. I have nothing against unions. A lot of good friends and family are, are union members. This has to do with just his thug mentality. I mean, look at his background, look at his history. The guy has a history of this constantly. Um, I mean, he was the one, after he got, became president, he was the one to bring back the mob mentality. What the heck is a mob mentality? And then you're gonna bring that mob mentality to me? Okay, well... You can't run your mouth against me. I'm just not that guy. If you want to run your mouth, then we can settle it a different way.  Literally, if you were to run your mouth to anybody in politics at all, this was the wrong guy to run your mouth to a former pro MMA fighter and Oklahoma state wrestler. Like. Literally the worst person you could have thrown a dart at the board and probably fought 90 percent of these old hacks sitting in on Capitol Hill, but you picked the absolute wrong Motherfucker to pick the only guy who is an ex professional MMA fighter  So what I want to do next is just watch a little bit of his one of his MMA fights because there actually is a couple of them that is up on, uh, that is up on YouTube that I found. So let's go ahead and I will pull this up for you.  But man, I totally agree. Bring it back. Bring back duels. I don't care if you really want to be tough. I'm pretty sure there would be no Democrats left if there was still duels or fistfights in politics.  They would probably just all be dead.  Um, but let's go ahead and see if we can pull this up again. Um,  And get this MMA fight pulled up for you because, um, I'm sure, uh, if he's from Oklahoma and he wrestled, I'm sure he's, uh, not, not a bad MMA fighter. Um, so here we  go.  Maybe not.  Here it is.  Director Rick.  I now recognize, uh, Mr. Pflueger, the gentleman from Texas and the chair. Is that what we're looking for?  There was an MMA fight posted from one of his...  Here we go from, uh, March, may,  and it's only three  minutes long.  Your fight Psych com trading cards  get noticed with these high quality, full color trading cars.  So let's see if we can get the order your background today and get noticed some of the moments here. These  high quality.  Notice.  Somebody just went for a takedown, bad shot, and immediately to the UTI. Oh my god.  Problems holding against him. He's a little bit too long. He looks like he's about to give up. Um, which is just not a good thing. He's a rapper. He's got a bad side of his shoulder. You know, he's a rapper. He's got a bad wrist. He's a rapper. You know, he can actually create a terrible spine fracture on his shoulders. Um, it gets on top of that. It gets on top of that. Um, Okay, I'm not sure which one's which, I guess it's supposed to be. I'm going to have to go back to the, uh, organization to figure out who. But I would assume the guy on top is probably the one on top. So keep, safe to assume. Uh,  they're up against the cage.  And,  looks like he's about to take his back. Oh no, he's in full mount.  And...  Still looking for what looks like that.  Kimura.  Transitions.  As the guy tries to get up to his back a little bit.  Arms stuck behind his hip. Flattens him out. Has his back. Has his arm trapped. You're pretty much done there. Because you can't even defend with one hand.  And man, that would have just been so refreshing to watch a fist fight in Senate. Where. Uh, you know, a Republican Senator just  demolishes a shit talking mobster, and he's on full mount now, just raining down  haymakers on this dude's face. Guy gives his back up, transitions to the back,  and that's probably all she wrote right there, huh?  We're just dominating. Dominating.  And, that's you.  Has his hooks in.  Yeah, that's it. I'm gonna tap. Took his back. Rear naked choke. Few shots thrown.  Uh, not sure if we can get a verification that this is actually the right guy here, but, uh,  we'll assume so. Um, but it looked like it, you know, looked like his wrestling was, was pretty decent and, uh, has the same exact name, so we'll assume.  Alright, moving on. Outside of this.  Let's talk about some other stuff, which is not nearly as interesting or exciting as watching a senator beat up a mob boss on the Senate floor. Uh, but hey, there's not too much that you can do to,  uh, get that. Um, looks like Markway Mullins is really enjoying this guy's ground game. Uh,  yeah, a lot of people have been seeing that. Um...  Let's see, it looks like Mark Wayne Mullins is really enjoying this guy's groggy. Uh, the big question is, nine months after this fight, who is going to get custody of the baby? What? I'm so confused.  Um,  Interesting. So it was him who, it looks like,  uh,  Yeah, he, he was actually the loser here. So his wrestling didn't look all that good for coming out of Oklahoma. If somebody takes your back so easily and you don't really have much of an answer to it. Um, but anyways, I digress.  Either way, he's still beating the shit out of that teamster boss. Um, all right, the very next article that we're going to discuss here is going to be  that the  If you didn't know, AI is now racist, according to some news articles who claim so after,  uh, white people seem to be able to get more confused by pictures of people who are AI thinking they're real more than they think.  Real white people are real. And where this gets, uh, pretty funny is that this was white on white racism, not even, you know.  They're saying by definition, because white people are confused by other white people, that the language learning models, the, the, the AI algorithms,  are biased because they're being fed more white people photos and they are being fed other races. Um, so let's read this article. It comes from, uh, popular science and it says, as technology evolves,  AI generated images of human faces are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from real photos.  But our ability to separate the real from the artificial may come down to a personal biases, both our own as well as that of AI's underlying algorithms. According to a new study recently published in the Journal of Psychological Science, certain humans may misidentify AI generated white faces as real more often than they can accurately identify actual photos of Caucasians.  More specifically, it's white people who can't distinguish between real and AI generated white faces.  In a series of trials conducted by researchers collaborating across universities in Australia, the Netherlands, and the UK, 124 white adults were tasked with classifying a series of faces as artificial or real,  then rating their confidence for each decision on a 100 point scale. The team decided to match white participants with Caucasian images. examples in an attempt to mitigate potential own racial or race recognition bias, the tendency for racial and cultural populations to more poorly remember unfamiliar faces from different demographics. And then remarkably white AI faces can convincingly pass as more real than human faces and people do not realize they are being fooled. Research is right. In their paper, this is a no slim margin. Either participants mistakenly classified a full 66 percent of AI images as photographed humans versus barely half as many as the real photos. Meanwhile, the same white participants ability to discern real from artificial people of color was roughly 50, 50 in a second experiment, 610 participants. You could also say, it's like, how do you take this and go, Oh, AI is racist. Because you could also say that white people are just bad at distinguishing. What's real and not real, in which case, now you're the racist one.  How's that for the UNO reverse card? Um, in a second experiment, 610 participants rated the same images using 14 attributes, contributing to what made them look human, without knowing some photos were fake.  Of those attributes, the faces proportionality,  familiarity, memorability, and the perception of lifelike eyes ranked highest for test subjects. They have a beautiful little... Graph here  has qualitative. Uh, it says the team dubbed this newly identified or identified tendency to overly misattribute artificially generated faces, specifically white faces as AI hyper realism. The starts to stark statistical differences are believed to stem from well documented algorithmic biases within AI development. AI systems are trained on far more white subjects than POCs. According to who?  Leading to a greater ability to both generate convincing white faces as well as accurately identify them using facial recognition techniques. This disparity ramifications can cripple through countless scientific, social, and psychological situations from identity theft to racial profiling to basic privacy concerns.  Our results explain why AI hyperrealism occurs and shows that not all AI faces appear equally realistic, with implications for proliferating social bias and for public misidentification of AI. The team writes in their paper adding that the AI hyperrealism phenomenon implies there must be some visual differences between AI and human faces, which people misinterpret.  It says, it's worth noting that the new studies test pool was both small and extremely limited. Oh, it's worth noting that everything that we just wrote about really has no scientific basis and extremely limited. And some research is undoubtedly necessary to further understand the extent and effects of such biases.  Hmm.  Interesting. So AI is racist because what? Because it's generating more real white faces according to white people.  Because there's no grading system other than this hundred or sixty whatever people that they just had take this survey But now all of a sudden AI is racist  who would have thought  although when working out is you know when working out is a sign of white nationalism and Eating healthy is now also classified as you being a racist or whatever  I guess it's no surprise.  Now, the next thing that we're going to talk about is that, uh, that's something that, you know, you probably heard about is they all look alike. Um, this comes from a foreign book, four vertical, it's called the other race effect, where, um, people who are white or people who are Indian or people who are black or Hispanic or whatever have a much easier time distinguishing the differentiation between somebody of their own race than other races. Um, so that's actually contradictory to what you would kind of expect here, where you would think that.  And I wonder if they did, how well will white people  rate other colors, other races, right? Um, and vice versa, right? Did they only do white with white people and black with black people and Hispanics with Hispanic people and Mexicans with Mexicans and Indians with, I don't know. They really gave us very little information to go off scientifically. Um, but I die. Grass.  All right. The very next article that we're going to discuss here is going to be about, Oh, you know what? Let's hold that thought right there because I appreciate you because I know earlier when I asked you that you hit that subscribe button. I also know that you probably left a five star review, but I also know that maybe there's one of you out there, one of you that unlike all of the other people who are listening to this, maybe didn't. Leave a five star review. Maybe you're the one person. Maybe you think I'm talking to you right now because I am. I'm talking directly at you because you still haven't left a five star review and it takes five seconds and all you have to do is click the button, press the five stars. If you're on Apple Podcasts, all you do is scroll down just a little bit.  Hit the fifth star and then type something nice. I don't know. Maybe act like that blurs and guide the bar and tell me what you hate about me, but just leave you as long as it's a five star review. It's cool. Right.  Anyways, um, go ahead, leave a five star review. Tell me what you liked about the episode. What you like about the podcast in general. Um, love feedback. So anything that I can do for you guys to improve, I would be happy to. All right. And.  Back to the thing. The next thing we're going to talk about is that majority of Americans are now taking notice to the rise of tipflation is what this is being coined across industries. It says around seven and 10 us adults say tipping is expected in more places today than it was five years ago. And I. Completely agree. If you are in a regular business establishment, if you are not actively serving me, nothing drives me crazier is when you flip around your little card reader and you go, Hey, could you just.  You know, just, just tap one of those buttons right there and it says, Hey, do I want to give you seven dollars for me? Swiping my own debit card and you doing your job and nothing more or nothing less, right? There's very little that you could do to make me want to tip some person that works at 7 eleven  I don't know the last time I was in a 7 Eleven, but, uh, I, it's just so wild to me  how confident people in restaurant industries, and this, it's really comes down to the point of sales. And you have to understand that the psychology around this is it's just a, it's just a sales technique. You know, it's like 90 percent of people, uh, don't even ask for the sale when it comes to sales. And that's why most people suck at selling stuff, but they just integrated into the point of sale systems, a way to say, Hey, do you want to give me more money? Then what, you know, inflation has already caused us to increase our prices for, right? Because who knows where this money is actually going? Is it actually being distributed amongst the, the, the staff at  a coffee place? Like when all they did was make the coffee when they're getting paid to. Make the coffee, right? Like I get if you're a bartender, I get if you're waiting on somebody, I get a few, you know, like I have a rule,  everybody basically gets 2025 percent unless you do something terrible or you never check in on me or my drinks completely empty the whole time and you get 40 percent or more. If you, wiping the table in front of me, getting the crumbs off the table, like taking it that extra step that you would expect when you go to a really nice restaurant, um, so it's like if you are going above and beyond, you deserve a tip if you're in a service industry and your wage depends on it, but you do not deserve a tip for literally Um, almost any industry you're getting paid for a service,  right? There's no reason that I should have to pay you above and beyond what that amount is. And even in the service industry, tipping should go away overnight and the restaurants should just start paying fair wages to their employees. Not working through this loophole to where you have to beg people to work. And again, I'm for commission. I'm for incentivizing people to do their job well. When you're selling and there's a transaction and I guess maybe that's kind of what it is. That'd be a counter argument or a devil's advocate to my position, which is that  you want to incentivize your weight staff to work. And be better at servicing people that are at your restaurant and the way to do that is to allow a capitalistic form of that, which is if you give good service, then you get more money.  But this probably doesn't work generally out that way. I just think that the restaurant should pay the people like everybody else in the entire world and just pay them what they should get paid for doing their job.  Would make more sense to me.  Anyways, nothing drives me crazier than going through a drive thru and then having them  turn around. their point of sale system and then look me dead in the eye like their puppy just died, hoping that I give them 3 off of, or for as a tip for my 3 coffee. Like, no, thank you. But this article says, and I'll just skim it for you. Cause we just talked about it for Probably too long as it is. Americans are realizing the tips for servers aren't just for restaurants and bars anymore. Pew Research surveyed 12, 000 adults almost in August 2023 using the center's nationally represented American Trends. Don't care. Um, they feel about the practice across a variety of different services from takeout to haircuts. That's another one. If you're giving me food, you charge me for the food, not for making it. That's inherently built into the price. A broad majority of Americans say they're being asked to tip service workers more frequently than in the past around seven and 10 us. Adults say tipping is expected in more places today than it was five years ago. Finding that tracks with anecdotal reporting has never been dubbed deflation and I guess. All that you're realizing is that the new point of sale systems have integrated this completely because why wouldn't you just ask for more money?  This appears to be true  across demographics and is partially due to changing technology as the adaptation of the point of sale tablets, apps, and digital kiosks have made it easier for businesses to provide customers with tip prompts and suggestions. Yeah,  exactly what I said. The report noted that even as Americans are increasingly asked for paid tips, relatively few have a great deal of confidence about what and how or when and how to do so. Only about a third say it's extremely or very easy to know whether or To know whether or how much to tip for different types of services. How about zero for all of them? Unless you're waiting on me and bringing me beer consistently. There's also not a consensus on whether tipping is a voluntary choice or an expected obligation. Around two in 10 Americans say it's more of a choice. While 30 percent say it's more of an obligation. Ew. The largest share of 50 percent says it depends on the situation, underscoring the lack of a single set of rules of expectations.  Okay. More Americans oppose than favor businesses suggesting tip amounts to their customers. For example, on the bill or on a checkout screen, another 32 percent neither favor nor oppose the practice.  Interesting. Who cares? Let's move on.  Anyways. Hmm.  It has some percentages as to which, you know, what people think about certain industries asking, which, you know,  who cares? Anyways, uh, the next thing that we're going to talk about here is going to be that what is this one? Um, yeah, so  we talked about this last week, but, um, the individual. Let me see if I can pull his name back up.  Police in England have arrested a suspect in connection with the death of former NHL player Adam Johnson, who tragically died last month when his neck was slashed by the skate of an opposing player. The South Yorkshire Police released a statement Tuesday confirming an arrest in their investigation into the death of 29 year old Johnson. The suspect, who was not identified by law enforcement, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.  Police said the suspect remains in custody. Teammate of ex player... NHL player calls tragic deaths the most traumatizing thing that I've seen in my entire life. Yeah, definitely. The former Pittsburgh Penguin forward was playing in the challenging or a challenge cup between the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers on October 28th when, during the second period, he suffered a fatal neck wound. Matt Peckgrave  collided with another player causing a skate to go up in the air. Um, so basically they  Uh, the police said on Thursday that an autopsy revealed his official cause of death was the result of a fatal neck injury. Yeah, he bled to death on the ice, guys. That's, you're not finding anything new. And it's exactly what these like, witch hunt that we saw with all these conservative voices, including the people that I mentioned last time.  You know, the DC draino, the, uh, libs of TikTok, the, all of these, you know, gross attempts at trying to act like you actually know what was going on in the ice. But what you find is when you look at that footage a little bit slower, you'll see that the skate basically traveled up the, the stick of another player as this guy was in a weird, like, hip check position and his leg went up the, the skate or the stick and hit the guy's neck, which is like, again.  It's just, it's tragic what happened. But should this guy get, go to jail? No, he shouldn't go to jail. Like, if a cleat hit a guy's throat on accident, and again, I absolutely believe this was an accident. I don't think it was a... You know, in Dominic and Sue's situation where he jabbed his cleat into the guy's throat purposefully to try and hurt him. And then yeah, if that's the case, but there's just nothing that indicates intent here. There's nothing that indicates that this guy should go to jail for anything other than playing the sport that he loved and having inherent risks. Because where does this stop now? Because guys literally fist fight each other on the ice. Right? And granted, that doesn't generally end in death. I don't think there's been a single case of that that I can recall. Um...  Besides maybe one where the guy fell on his head in the ice like a long long time ago  But  to me, there's just there's there's no true reason that this guy should be arrested. I Completely disagree with this. I Absolutely believe that this was an accident But I just wanted to tie that loose end for you guys that that guy was arrested and is currently incarcerated for suspicion of manslaughter. Now, it'll be interesting to see this case go to trial and to actually listen and then see what's being said and what the argument is, because I just do not see an argument for this man going to jail for playing a sport that is inherently dangerous and having something happen. Like what happened, which again is tragic. Um,  just wanted to tie that loose end for you guys.  Now that leads us to the next sporting event, which is that there was a California teen who was suspended following a blackface allegation on the football field for literally wearing eye black.  You know, the thing that you've seen every football player almost ever have on their face  was suspended from school and told that he cannot return to his sport because he was wearing blackface.  This article coming from Toronto Sun says that an 8th grade student of Loyola  California has reportedly been suspended for allegedly wearing blackface to a local football game.  However, a national civil rights group called the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression claims the boy identified as J. A. was wearing black eye paint to reflect any glare as many football players do.  You should. According to the New York Post, the student was photographed on October 13th attending a high school football game between the Lowell High School and Morse High School, with dark face paint covering his cheeks and chin. We had a fun, great night without any trouble. This is literally a, what, a 13  year old  that wore eye black on his face to a football game?  And probably put a little bit too, it's not, it's so silly, I guess, kind of need to see a picture of it to make a real distinction, but it can't be worse than what Justin Trudeau did, you know, literally wearing the turban on his head and wore blackface acting like a, I don't know, a snake charmer or something, the most racist thing that you'll ever see if you want to talk about blackface, right? Go look at Justin Trudeau, not some 13 year old going to a football game wearing paint under his eyes.  Like, this is where we've gotten to where AI is racist and wearing eye black under your 13 year old's eyes is now blackface. Like, let's find real demons to slay here. I think that's where we've gone as a society now is like,  there's always been,  there's always been eyes in the bushes. Right? And our amygdala is constantly surveying our surroundings, looking for something to jump out and attack us. And obviously that's not the case with what we're talking about here. But I think that we've been so conditioned to find... Uh, to find problems with our surroundings that now there's, we're in such a cushy, soft environment where very little violence actually occurs, you know, unless you're on the Senate floor next to Bernie Sanders,  um, but  very little violence occurs, very little real confrontation occurs, and, and In a world where that happens, we seek it because we are biologically wired to engage in confrontation, to have real demons, the, the, the, the monsters that have been around for years and years and thousands of years, as we know it, the raping, the pillaging, the war, the, this, the, that, and obviously war is still going on, and we'll talk about that in our next subject, but in the day to day life, people are so removed from real violence. People are so removed from, from what it meant to be a human a hundred years ago.  Right? And so you have a principal going off of a social media picture, suspending a student for literally wearing  sport eye black under his eyes.  looking for to make a monster out of a child who literally just went to a football game.  This is the first amendment projects J. A. 's non disruptive expression of team spirit via style commonly used by athletes and fans notwithstanding your inaccurate description of it as blackface. Fire calls upon the school to remove the infraction from J. A. 's disciplinary record and lift the ban on his attendance at future athletic events.  Tear said J. A. 's appearance emulated the style of iBlackWarm by many athletes.  Noting that such use of eye black began as a way to reduce glare during games, which is different from blackface, as is dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a black person and especially to mock or ridicule black people.  Yeah, there's some horrific actual instances of that. Go look at Howard Stern's, uh, old, um, I don't know what you call it, bit. Where he did, uh, blackface,  pretending to be talking to Whoopi Goldberg, I think it was. And he said the actual N word, like, seven times, thinking he was being funny. And then,  what is it? The Prime Minister of Canada! Wearing blackface. I'm pretty sure like multiple times for Halloween. Um, all right now, speaking of war, let's go into this transition. Elon Musk was on Lex Friedman's podcast and during this conversation together,  uh, Elon Musk, um,  had a really interesting and similar opinion to what I have when it comes to the Israel Hamas situation, which is it. What I will play for here you hear in just a second But I would say something that I've noticed more recently is that Lex Friedman his podcast if you don't listen to this podcast It's it's it's one of my favorites. I definitely think there's  Is probably the best most tactful well done podcast that is out there today Above even Joe Rogan. You go listen to the podcast with Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. It's not half of as insightful and empathetic and interesting as the conversation that was had with Lex Friedman. Um, so just a side note, but let's listen to this conversation and see what he had to say about the Israel and Hamas war.  All right. And here it is. He wants to do that. So like I said, somehow controversial. You've been a proponent of peace. A little bit of technical difficulties here. I'm having a problem with my other screen is freezing every single time I go  to use the screen. So just give me one second here. But while that happens, I'll kind of give you the.  TLDR of what Elon Musk says, which is essentially that if he had to give advice to Israel in his position today, what would he say to the leadership there? How do you get out of this and have it,  uh, is there a winning side? Is there a possibility to even win this war? And  what, what would you say to Israel in order to  to, to  come out of this better than you went into it, right? Because they're quickly, as we'll find in the next, the next situation, they're quickly losing favor by the American people. Um, so when, when that's happening and you're, you're seeing it in real time, them start to have, you know,  coming out with propaganda campaigns just today saying that, Oh, look, we found these weapon caches and in this hospital that we just bombed and raided. It's like, uh, okay.  Because you could have just as easily planted those weapons to justify your war, which would be one of the least  bad things that has ever happened in war as a false flag. But anyways, I digress. Here is this clip, Lex Friedman and  Elon Musk.  Or maybe it's not, because my computer is freezing again. Um, so let's see, one last time here, and then  we'll move on to the next one if we can't get it here.  Uh, so  we will jump out. We will jump  back in and share that screen one last time.  The  path to peace could be, how do you hope the current war in Israel and Gaza comes to an end? Uh, what path do you see that can minimize human suffering in the longterm in that part of the world?  Well, I think that part of the world is definitely, like, if you look up the, there is no easy answer in the dictionary, it'll be that, like, the picture of, uh, the Middle East, um, and Israel especially. So there is no easy answer.  Um,  what my,  this is strictly my opinion of, uh, you know, uh, is that, uh,  the, the goal of Hamas was to provoke an overreaction from Israel.  Um, they obviously did not expect to, uh, you know, have a military victory. Um, but they, they expect, they really wanted to  commit the worst atrocities that they could in order to provoke the,  the most aggressive response possible from Israel. Um, and then leverage that, uh, aggressive response to Um, rally Muslims worldwide, uh, for the cause of, uh, Gaza and Palestine, which they have succeeded in doing.  Um, so the, the, the  counterintuitive thing here, I think that the, the thing that I think should be done, even though it is very difficult, uh, is that, um, I, I would recommend that Israel engage in the most conspicuous acts of kindness possible, every part, everything.  That is the actual thing that would towards the goal of the mosque.  So in some sense, the degree that makes sense in geopolitics, turn the other cheek, implemented. It's not exactly turn the other cheek, um, because I do think that there's, um,  you know, I think it is appropriate for Israel to  find the Hamas members and, you know, um,  either, either kill them or incarcerate them. Um, like that's something that's something has to be done because they're just going to keep, keep, keep coming otherwise. Um, but.  In addition to that, they need to. Do whatever they can. Um, there's some talk of...  So I do like what he said there. Conspicuous acts of kindness. Right? And then he gets into the philosophical reason as to why he believes that, you know, those conspicuous, you know, obvious acts of kindness that everybody sees should be happening as a way to  gain public, uh, uh, gain public,  I don't know if, um... What the right word would be there to gain public popularity, and I don't even know if it's popularity, but acceptance of this war and the acts that they're committing, right? And he's saying that because the way that people are viewing this right now, we're going to find, find out that almost 70 percent of people in the US today believe that Israel is going overboard in its reaction against Palestine in Hamas,  right? Bombing the, the Um, safe zones, like hitting ambulances with rockets and all of these things are, are war crimes. That's exactly what they are. They're war crimes. And as a established nation state that is, uh, uh, uh, a,  a agreed upon nation.  By all the other countries in the world, you don't get to commit acts of terrorism. And I see constantly, constantly people are arguing me saying that Israel is justified in committing acts of terrorism because they're dealing with terrorists. Well, guess what? You know what that makes you? A terrorist, regardless of your reasoning, because if you look to Hamas, they have their reasons too. But the way that they act is not within the confines of what's allowable in order for them to be an agreed upon nation, to be a part of the Geneva Convention, to be, uh, to be somebody that is recognized on a world stage, right? That makes you a terrorist organization, right? And so when everybody says, Oh, well, how are you supposed to deal with this? You deal with it with a scalpel. Not with Roman candles,  right? You didn't see the United States bombing hospitals. You didn't see them bombing ambulances. You didn't see them killing unbelievable amounts of women and children, which to be fair is not completely true. There was lots of women and children killed by the United States command during our war in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are, again, I totally disagree with, you know, and I have other people going, well, you know,  casualties have to be made in war. It's like, to what extent? Or are you just perpetuating sickness and, and, and, and murder and, and hate that is going to be generational now, because even if I knew that my grandparent was killed by Israel or whoever, fill in the blank, because they hated them or to, to, in response or revenge for whatever silly act, it's never about the reasoning. It's just about who did what to who, when, and if you're related to me and. or if you kill somebody who's related to me, I will spend my life coming after you,  right? I absolutely will dedicate my life to hunting you down  as any sane man in protector should.  So you mitigate that by  inconspicuous acts of kindness, which I like the way that he phrased that by, by showing compassion and showing empathy and showing love. For, for this, the civilians that are on the other side of this, that are truly the victims of both sides, whether it's Hamas or Palestine or Israel, the, the Palestinian civilians are, are literally the, the, the worst off of anybody,  right? Cause they're getting it from Hamas. They're getting it from Israel, and they have nothing to do with either side of it. They're just stuck in the middle.  And so,  he goes on to explain the philosophical reasons why, and I won't ruin it, because he will probably explain it maybe the high level better than me, and I might have a little bit to add to it. So establishing, for example, a mobile hospital. I'd recommend doing that, um,  just making sure that, uh, you know, there's food, water, uh, medical necessities,  um,  and, and just be over the top about it and be very transparent. So it's, it's, so that it can't, people can't claim it's a trick. Like just put a webcam on the thing,  you know, all 24 7.  Deploy acts of kindness.  Yeah, conspicuous acts of kindness  that, that with, that are unequivocal, meaning that can't be.  Somehow, because Hamas will then, their response will be, oh, it's a trick, therefore you have to counter how, how it's not a trick.  This ultimately fights the broader force of hatred in the, in the region. Yes, and I'm not sure who said it, it's an apocryphal saying, but an eye for an eye makes everyone blind.  Now that next to the words, they really  believe in the whole eye for an eye thing. Um,  but.  I mean, you really have,  if you're not going to just outright  commit genocide, like it against an entire people, which obviously would not be acceptable to, to, to really shouldn't be acceptable to anyone, um, then you're, you're going to leave basically a lot of people alive who subsequently, you know, hate Israel. So really the question is like,  how,  for every Hamas member that you kill, how many did you create?  And if you. Create more than you killed. You've not succeeded. That's the you know, the real situation there  and it's safe to say that if  you know  If you know if you kill somebody's child in Gaza  If you've made at least a few  Hamas members  who will die  just, just to kill an Israeli.  That's the situation. So,  but, but I mean, this is one of the most contentious subjects one could possibly discuss, but, but I think if, if the, if the goal ultimate is some sort of long term peace, one has to be, look at this from standpoint of over time, are there more or fewer, um, terrorists being created?  Which is the pe