Beer and Conversation Podcast

The boys open the mail bag and answer some interesting questions.

Pigweed and Crowhill drink and review Bell’s Amber Ale, then go through reader comments.

They start with an update on The Flashman Incident and a review of indulgences and the crusades.

One listener called the boys out on camping, and another corrected a mistake in the Frankenstein episode.

A listener asks if there’s a racial component to Night of the Living Dead? EricEatsBrains laid a huge philosophical question on the boys, and then MarshaMarshaMarsha asked if P&C support the ERA.

P&C try to field these and several other tough reader questions.

Does the federal government have the authority to mandate the vaccine?

P&C drink and review Pigweed’s winter warmer beer, then discuss the vaccine mandates.

The federal government can tell federal workers what to do. Where do they get the right to tell private employees what to do?

This same cast of characters just recently told us they had no authority to issue a mandate, and had no intention to. Now they’re issuing a mandate. What gives?

It seems as if the government is always moving the goal posts. What we said yesterday was Gospel, which contradicts what we say today, which is also Gospel, and you’d better get in line or we’ll cancel you.

P&C address other questions, such as …

• Is Covid like smallpox?
• Is Covid an emergency?
• Does an emergency justify any proposed action?
• Will the mandate create a bigger problem than it’s intended to solve?

It seems that we now have a professional / government / “expert” class that despises the general population. Or … have we always had that, and they’re only now saying it out loud?

Is it okay for parents to scare their children straight?

P&C review Crowhill’s Kentucky Common, then discuss Wrinkles the Clown.

Parents have been heard to say, “We don’t spank, we use the discipline clown.”

E.g., “You’d better be good, or I’ll call Wrinkles.”

“Hello, Wrinkles,” [child wailing in the background], “I have some very bad children here.”

The story of Wrinkles is very interesting, and more complicated than you might think. What should we think of a clown designed to scare children?

As Democrats go down in flames, what should we learn?

Democrats suffer surprising losses in Virginia and several other off-cycle elections. It seems to be a pretty clear repudiation of Biden and the ultra-left focus of the Democrats.

In Virginia, McAuliffe insulted parents repeatedly, and tried to make the campaign about Trump. Youngkin walked a careful path, neither endorsing Trump nor alienating Trump supporters.

Parents in Virginia punched back against the lies they’ve been repeatedly told, and repudiated the “your children belong to us” attitude of McAuliffe and the Democrats.

P&C drink a Jungle Bird cocktail and discuss the results.

Educators have gone mad, and parents are fighting back

P&C drink and review Sierra Nevada’s Amber Marzen, then discuss the catastrophe that public education has become, highlighting some recent developments.

The education establishment believes parents have no say in what their children are being taught. Parents are punching back, which provoked a school board association to collude with the Biden administration to call these parents “domestic terrorists.”

In Loudon county, school are covering up sexual assault to protect their stupid bathroom policies. In Fairfax county, teachers are lying about critical race theory.

The boys say it’s time to start paying attention to school board elections.

Goofy lyrics, funny lyrics and famously misheard lyrics

P&C drink and review Kostritzer Schwarzbier (a dark lager), then discuss weird song lyrics.

The boys discuss song lyrics in general — why do some people care, and others don’t — why is it so easy to misunderstand lyrics? Then they move on to stupid lyrics, sappy lyrics, and some famously (and hilariously) misheard lyrics.

You’ll have to endure some singing on this one, and, unfortunately, we had to use our audio backups, so the quality isn’t up to our normal standards.

Where did we get the idea of re-animated corpses?

P&C drink and review Schlafly’s pumpkin beer, then get ready for Halloween with a discussion of zombies.

The boys start with an overview of the history of zombies, from probable origins in Haiti, to the classic Night of the Living Dead, and then on to modern evolutions of the concept. Along with special guest Longinus, P&C discuss the meaning of the zombie. Why is it such an enduring concept for movies and TV shows?

Just in time for Halloween, the boys review a classic horror story

Along with special guest Longinus, P&C review “The Fear,” an imperial pumpkin beer from Flying Dog, then continue their “shortcut to the classics” series with a discussion of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Considered one of the first horror novels, and also one of the first science fiction novels, the book has inspired more than its share of plays and movies, although most of the movies depart from the book in many details. You may be surprised what is and is not in the book.

Our favorite literary critics review the plot and a few of the more prominent themes.

Is there any benefit to roughing it for a while?

P&C review DuClaw’s 25th anniversary version of Naked Fish, then talk about lessons learned from camping.

The major thing you learn from camping is to not be so fussy about bugs and dirt and discomfort. But there’s more to it than that. It can be an opportunity for children to learn a little independence, and to stretch themselves and their perceptions of what they can do.

P&C reflect on different types of camping, share a couple of their camping stories, and generally celebrate the hobby.

Are they as bad as people usually think, or is there more to it?

P&C drink and review Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Nectar, then discuss the Crusades.

It’s a very difficult and controversial subject, but the boys try to parse through some of it.

There were multiple different crusades with different purposes, different personalities and different alliances. Some of the crusades were incredibly successful, while others were complete disasters.

P&C stick mostly to the first crusade, reviewing its antecedents and trying to put it in historical perspective.

What the heck does Biden want to spend all this money on?

P&C drink and review Candy Cane Imperial Stout, then discuss Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending spree, and wonder what we get out of it.

Right now, Congress is working on two bills. The first is the “good bill” — the “build back better” bill, which allegedly focuses on infrastructure, and has a hefty price tag on its own. The second is the social spending bill, which dwarfs the infrastructure bill and blows the roof off federal spending.

The boys try to dig into the details and find out what Biden and company are trying to buy.

The boys review Pigweed’s Black Ops Ale, then discuss when it’s legit to take the law into your own hands.

The social contract involves individuals giving up their right to vengeance — taking matters into their own hands — for a collective and organized exercise of justice.

P&C recently watched a documentary called “No One Saw a Thing” where a town decided to deal with the town bully, because law enforcement wasn’t.

Were they right? Why not? When is it legitimate to take the law into your own hands?

P&C drink and review a homebrewed porter, then discuss how to destroy America.

Since we can’t seem to agree on how to make America great, perhaps we can agree on things to avoid. P&C hope that if we can identify really dumb things — things that would undermine our economy, our culture, our defenses, the family, law and order — things that no sensible person would ever want — then maybe we can agree on how to move forward.

Or if you’d rather watch it, here you go.

P&C drink and review a homebrewed Alt beer, then do five topics in five minutes each.

1. Why is natural immunity being ignored by the vaccine proponents? Our goal should be immunity. Why does it matter if it’s from the vaccine or from natural immunity? (Along these lines, see this: Undercover Video: Pfizer Scientists Say Natural Immunity Is Superior and Big Pharma Is Suppressing Info for Money)

2. Why do assassins and mass murderers have three names?

3. What is forest bathing?

4. Indians at the time of Columbus vs. indians at the time of the Mayflower.

5. Who’s the pervert?

P&C drink and review Crowhill’s Tavern Ale, then discuss a local story that went national. The Flashman Incident.

Bob thought he was doing the community a favor by dropping off some of his dad’s old books in the free Tiny Libraries that dotted his neighborhood, but when Pedro took the book to school and his teacher saw some inappropriate language, all Hell broke loose. The social media / woke firestorm threatened to engulf everyone in its way. It’s still unclear what will happen to Bob.

Flashman: A Novel is by George MacDonald Fraser.