The Podcast of Unnecessary Abstraction(s)

Ep 13: Matthew Mc-Comet-Hey

Micah and Ryan catch up with Ryan's super-commuter lifestyle, summarize the movies of 2014, and discover how Matthew McConaughey helped us land on a comet. Get the incredibly detailed shownotes here [http://brickcaster.com/abstraction/13], and delve into topics including: * The word milieu [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/milieu] * Shia Labouf [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u4M6vppCI] * The connections between method acting [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIkdr64_cCo], Methodists, and algorithms * A Methodism to his madness [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0739177907/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0739177907&linkCode=as2&tag=micahredding-20&linkId=XLWUQJHVQMM4VXM6] and more Methodism to his madness [http://methodistmadness.tumblr.com/] * Are we living in the 21st century? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_century] When did it happen? (Hint: It's not the same century as "the 2000s") * Year Zero [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_%28game%29] * Zero to One [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804139296/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0804139296&linkCode=as2&tag=micahredding-20&linkId=W3XQLMPLPF4LY7PQ] (best book ever) * The upcoming Singularity Movie. Kinda like Scary Movie. * Neil deGrassfed Bison [https://twitter.com/neilbison] * Ryan's improv experiences. This is NOT therapy! * The TV show Nashville [http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/inside-the-music-of-nashville-20121107] * [Pikachu](http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pikachu_(Pok%C3%A9mon) [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pikachu_(Pok%C3%A9mon)]) and that weird art thing that sounds like it. Pecha Kucha [http://www.pechakucha.org/]. * People in bands. Band people, Banned people. * The democratization of music, the capitalization of music, and the fascism of music. * Not capitalizing words. See also ee cummings [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings#Name_and_capitalization]. * It takes two mirrors to look at your life. That's just logic. * Binaural audio (see this binaural music video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3l4wOLvVEo]) * How Interstellar is the sequel to True Detective, via that Dylan Thomas poem. * True Detective [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Detective_%28TV_series%29] (best show ever) and philosophical pessimism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pessimism] * How Interstellar [http://www.wired.com/2014/10/astrophysics-interstellar-black-hole/] led to scientific discoveries * Rage against the dying of the light [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mRec3VbH3w] * Yes And Man, Yes Sandman * Optical Delusion [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/369-a-human-being-is-a-part-of-the-whole-called](s [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=optical+delusion]) * The difference between Maxwell's Demon and Descartes' Demon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_%28thought_experiment%29] * Alright, alright, alright [http://media.giphy.com/media/g5zvwUa9720pO/giphy.gif]

Ep 12: Now that's what I call angst!

Ryan and Micah once again buddy-cop this episode, with a review of the movie Her, a discussion of assault rifles, Jesus, and popular business mottos, a how-to guide on escaping from either a black hole, or the mouth of the ferocious Snuggle Bear, and some precise pointers on how to swear an oath in the ancient world. Read our detailed shownotes here. [http://brickcaster.com/abstraction/12] * Her, the Movie [http://www.herthemovie.com/] * Homely vs homey [http://grammarist.com/usage/homely-homey/] * The straight and narrow path, is basically the double-slit experiment [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment] * Jesus wants you to carry an assault rifle [http://politicalblindspot.com/u-s-general-says-jesus-is-coming-back-with-an-ar-15-assault-rifle/] * The cross we have to bear, the thorn in our flesh, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, stripping naked in court [http://www.cpt.org/files/BN%20-%20Jesus'%20Third%20Way.pdf], and other popular business mottos * How to swear an oath in the ancient world [http://www.gotquestions.org/hand-under-thigh.html] (don’t tell HR) * Some confusion between the Pillsbury Doughboy [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynrsuuDZcCg] and the Snuggle Bear [https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-snuggle-bear-from-the-laundry-detergent-is-so-cute-/337904030317] and the Charmin Bear [http://www.charmin.com/meet-the-bears.aspx] * The 12-week year [http://12weekyear.com/] and my 12-week calendar [http://micahredding.com/12weekyear/] * The ONE Thing [http://www.amazon.com/One-Thing-surprisingly-extraordinary-results-ebook/dp/B00C1BHQXK] * 66 days to form a habit [http://newleafandcompany.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-form-a-new-habit/] * Phones as Golden Compass-like daemons [http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/11/14/the-golden-compass-what-are-daemons] * The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes [http://video.disney.com/watch/the-computer-wore-tennis-shoes-trailer-4be10fe54fc6742f7f3ce022] and Not Quite Human [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093649/] (revealing Alan Thicke’s robotic son) and Small Wonder [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go2mq3gs_3Y] * Now That’s What I Call Angst! - Volume 15 * Sad songs make you happy [http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/why-we-cant-help-love-sad-songs] * A Spike Jonze short film [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OY1EXZt4ok] * The Secret Life of Black Holes [http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro201/bh_structure.htm] * You spin me right round, Jesus [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNvRo8gFx7A] * Fiend, a novel [http://www.amazon.com/Fiend-A-Novel-Peter-Stenson/dp/0770436315]

Ep 11: Coming of Age

In this coming-of-age episode, Micah and Ryan explore the problems with Millennials and Gypsies, find out why hippies become bankers, solve deep theological problems with the Power Rangers, and give the world a sure-fire formula for success! Read our detailed shownotes here. [http://brickcaster.com/abstraction/11] * Strange Loops [http://www.amazon.com/Am-Strange-Loop-Douglas-Hofstadter-ebook/dp/B004PYDBS0/], Exponential Extrapolations, and the Simulation Argument [http://www.simulation-argument.com/] * Is there a scientific test to see if we’re living in a simulation? [http://www.kurzweilai.net/do-we-live-in-a-computer-simulation-how-to-test-the-idea] * We’re the adult version of Sesame Street * The three-body problem [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-body_problem] is what makes the trinity so difficult to understand * The trinity and pie [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130712054515AAxFwf8] * The trinity and pi [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138704/] * All the other illustrations fail miserably, so I use my go-to illustration of The Megazord from The Power Rangers [http://powerrangers.wikia.com/wiki/Megazord] * Captain Planet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Planet_and_the_Planeteers] * A film adaptation of Captain Planet? [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/captain-planet-planeteers-movie-works-576490] * Ted Turner [http://www.tedturner.com/] * Both numerable and innumerable * Our bumper music is just an exclamation of incredulity * Millennialism, Catholicism, Nihilism, Eddie Izzardism, and the new iOS X * Our role models - TMZ or bathroom graffiti? * This is our coming of age episode * “What have I become?” - Johnny Cash quoting Trent Reznor * How do you pronounce NietzsChe Guevara? * A Salinger documentary? [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596753/] * The Eternal Return, a recurring theme of this podcast * Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid [http://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567] * A reading list for this show — add your contributions here! [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dhC85QifU9AJri_OVKkBnbPDX7vnmKzS999S5iA3QG0/edit?usp=sharing] * Why are millennials unhappy? [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html] * Gen Y Millennials, or GYPSYs * Flotsam Gypsum and Lorem Gypsum * You are a special butterfly [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X2AvfSTi6Q] * Trying to convince ourselves we’re special * The Flight of the Conchords and their fanbase [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdeJRKxZZNY] * Ylvis [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbyzgeee2mg] * Ryan Hogan’s Sure-Fire Formula for Success: * move to New Zealand or Norway and start a comedy band * Hippies and cults * Idealists vs Radicals * Idealists think things can be better * Radicals believe there is a core, and everything else needs to be cut away * Existence precedes essence * There are good things in the world, we’ve got to rip open the containers to get at them * Radicalism is unsustainable * Hippies become cultists, then Wall Street Bankers * Watch out for the New Radicals [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPAEFnVZVOs]! * The Flaming Lips, One Direction [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/03/one-direction-a-primer-for-adults.html], and One Republic [http://onerepublic.com/] * The defeaters of orthodoxy become the defenders of orthodoxy * A band named “Pope”, with a lead singer who is a puppet * Dualistic Tensions * Apollo and Dionysus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonian_and_Dionysian] and art history * Chaos and Order * Will to Power bars [http://www.philosophersguild.com/Will-to-Power-Bar.html] * Schwa [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa]-sticka * Sisyphus [http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/sisyphus.html] or Silliphus or Syphilis [http://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/stdfact-syphilis.htm]? * Futile or Feudal or Futile? * The problem with cubicle walls * Tearing down cubicle walls [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNai8OYhdxA] * The frustrating thing about cubicle walls is that they’re not real walls * They don’t imprison you, YOU imprison you! * They point to how the modern world renders your natural instincts impotent * The Stapler Guy [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVD3KPUnKHk] * We finally figure out how to use the Butterfly Effect [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8_dgqfPXFg] to make ourselves feel special

Ep 10: The Episode of Unnecessary Intrusions

This episode doubles as a going away party, and a chance for a rival group of partiers to launch a mutiny and a podcast of their own. Will the whole thing capsize before reaching a meaningful resolution? Tune in to find out! Read our detailed shownotes here. [http://brickcaster.com/abstraction/10] * You can’t prove a negative [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_absence], but can you argue from silence? * David's twitter conversation [https://twitter.com/speckulative] * Tabula rasa [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabula_rasa] * Crack babies [http://articles.philly.com/2013-07-22/news/40709969_1_hallam-hurt-so-called-crack-babies-funded-study] and crack addicts [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/science/the-rational-choices-of-crack-addicts.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&] * Greek theater [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Him_to_the_Greek], with its Greek choruses and all those deus ex machinas [http://micahredding.com/blog/2012/02/10/deus-ex-machina] * In Nashville, everything’s a music venue * Bathroom walls, music, education, ancient relics * The CoC’s favorite fallacy: the argument from silence. * Some people argue for the argument from silence 1 [https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/680-silence-argument-the] 2 [http://cconline.faithsite.com/content.asp?CID=21845] * And here’s someone arguing that rejecting the argument from silence is engaging in an argument from silence of your own 3 [http://www.pb.org/pbdocs/music.html#The%20Argument%20From%20Silence%20is%20Invalid] * And here’s someone who blames the argument from silence on God himself 4 [http://www.mightyisthelord.com/articles/2012/08/12/who-started-this-argument-from-silence] * Henry Cavil & the Episode of Unnecessary Intrusions * There are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns] - Donald Rumsfeld * Dick Cheney doesn't have a heart * Is this podcast supposed to be funny? * Recorded voice, actual voice, internal voice * The voice of my internal monologue - I'm in love with the voice inside my head * James Earl Jones is Ryan's internal voice. * People who played god. * Morgan Freeman * Whoopi * Alanis Morrissette * George Carlin * Voices by decade * The stereotypical 40s voice [https://screen.yahoo.com/lulu-diamonds-000000556.html] * The nasally high pitched 90s voice [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_X9s0X0Bs] * Seizure sneezes [http://instagram.com/p/b-JRrkmPA3/] or Caesar Schneezes? * If there's anything we don't do on this show, it's name drop * Science attempts to falsify, not prove positives * Prank phone calls * Spin-off podcasts * The Necessary Distractions podcast * Unnecessary Intrusions * Necessary Extrusions * Cross pollination * No screaming * Art is about seeing * Experiments with a hand in a box. Phantom Hands. Phantom toes. Curing phantom hands. * Justin Timberlake puts some things in a box [http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/snl-digital-short-d-in-a-box/n12100/] * The blog of unnecessary phallic symbols [http://unnecessaryphallic.tumblr.com/]. Medical and medicinal phallic references. * Prosthetic sixth toe. Five finger shoes. * Foley [http://filmsound.org/terminology/foley.htm] * The coming shownote singularity * Transcription, transubstantiation, transfusion * Keep it publishable * The penultimate pendragon * A large thistle on the verge of exploding

Ep 9: Awesome Muffins

In this episode we talk about entropy, cynicism, misery, and Ryan Gosling, with plenty of #sports, #popculture, and #currentevents. Also discussed, why not to start a French Revolution. Read our detailed shownotes here. [http://brickcaster.com/abstraction/9] * How Ryan survived the 27 club * Song: I am the cosmos [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR594Kkxmzg] * Burner Phones, Motorola [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola#History] and Victrola [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victrola] * Ryan Gosling in ‘Drive’ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/] * The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind [http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Consciousness-Breakdown-Bicameral-Mind/dp/0618057072] and Bicameralism [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Jaynes] * I Always Look Up the Word ‘Egregious’ [http://www.amazon.com/Always-Look-Up-Word-Egregious/dp/0134487125] * Creating a Wikipedia loop * Leslie Lohan, Lindsey Lohan’s twin sister * Disney & the homunculus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homunculus] * Bertrand Russell’s turtles all the way down [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down] * Godel Escher Bach [http://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567] * Sickness unto death with Kierkegaard [http://www.amazon.com/The-Sickness-Unto-Death-Psychological/dp/0691020280] * Irreducible Complexity [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreducible_complexity] * Psoriasis [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoriasis] or Psychosis [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis] or Cirrhosis [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrhosis] * Synecdoche, New York [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche,_New_York] * Funeral Monologue [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9PzSNy3xj0] * Why sad songs make you happy [http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/why-we-cant-help-love-sad-songs] * Entropy, the second law of thermodynamics [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_law_of_thermodynamics] * Elysium [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535108/] * Nightfall [http://www.amazon.com/Nightfall-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553290991] by Isaac Asimov * Choose Your Eschatology * [Korg Organs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/KORG_CX-3_(1980,_front).jpg [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/KORG_CX-3_(1980,_front).jpg]) * The Daemons leaving (see Elizabeth Gilbert [http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html] and [Daemons in His Dark Materials](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A6mon_(His_Dark_Materials) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A6mon_(His_Dark_Materials)]) and [Daemons in classical mythology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology)) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology))]) * Passing it on, like the Sprint Dime [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT-rn9hVfNg] * The Gifts of the Jews [http://www.amazon.com/The-Gifts-Jews-Changed-Everyone/dp/0385482493] * The World is Not Ours to Save [http://www.amazon.com/The-World-Not-Ours-Save/dp/0830836578] and The Two Futures Project [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Futures_Project] * Regular, awesome muffins to the right * Micah’s MTA talk [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZSn0ojtlM] * Venkatesh Rao and Evil Twins [http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/09/17/your-evil-twins-and-how-to-find-them/] * Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael [http://www.amazon.com/Ishmael-Adventure-Spirit-Daniel-Quinn-ebook/dp/B000SEFH6A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389597620&sr=8-1&keywords=ishmael] and the Second Great Awakening [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Great_Awakening] * Pete Rollins * Seeing the world negatively makes you happy, seeing the world positively makes you miserable * Nature vs Grace, as seen in The Tree of Life [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/], Superman and Lex Luthor * Jem and the Holograms [http://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/the-backwards-logic-of-jem-and-the-holograms], their arch-rivals the Misfits, and the song Winning is Everything [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHkhRpxNYNk] * Arrested Development, season 4 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367279/] * Life is not a game, like Go or Magic the Gathering. It’s more like basketball. #sports * “Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?” - Robert Browning [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Browning] * Whenever the buzzer sounds, there will always be balls in the air * Every single episode of LOST [https://vine.co/v/hmKTwzDe2zI], in six seconds. * Vihart explains 20th century and atonal music [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4niz8TfY794#t=0] and we use that as a way to talk about the breaking of language, and the urge to destroy everything in the hopes of remaking it * Hippies grow up to be Wall Street bankers * Jimi Hendrix and the national anthem * “Call the world if you please ‘The vale of soul-making’.” - John Keats [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Keats] * The theology of Jean Valjean [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables] * The Vast Economy [http://micahredding.com/blog/2012/01/31/vast-economy] includes black markets, grey markets, and thermodynamics * Micah is meta-cynical, seeing behind not just the first curtain [http://brickcaster.com/abstraction/7], but the second curtain as well * And finally, everything comes to an entropic close.