I'm Trying To Think » podcast

Episode 57: Moral Purpitude

Dave — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:03:21 +0000

Join us as we continue our discussion of free will from last week and ask the big questions.

Can you have free will in a deterministic universe? Is the question itself even sensible?

With free will itself in question, can Charles really be in charge of anything?

Was early seventies glam a significantly underrated peak of rock and roll?

and so much more

Episode 56: Nothing Else Family Matters

Chuck — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:48:57 +0000

This time around, we talk about football, morality, and Miller-Boyett Productions.

We almost got this one out on the same day it was recorded, and by almost, I mean, “Within 120 hours!” Astounding!

Episode 55: Hypocricrotical

Chuck — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:08:08 +0000

We’re back from an unexpected hiatus! Come along as we discuss why we haven’t podcasted in months, the United States of Namblica, our new episode format, and a farewell to Christopher Hitchens.

Episode 53: The Kong James Bible

Dave — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:09:17 +0000

Join us as we discuss the unraveling of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Five Stages of Grief, atheist nomenclature, the basketball prowess of the chosen people and more!

Episode 52: Subdivisions

Dave — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:17:52 +0000

In this episode, we discuss how to raise your child to be a moral member of society and also know how much Led Zeppelin rules.

Also featured: your (at the time) first place Pittsburgh Pirates, The Outfield, Tom Petty’s goth baiting and just a little bit of Rush for some reason.

Episode 51: STD Crridr

Dave — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:16:23 +0000

We return from a slog through the editing fields to bring you a blast from the past. Fill your ears with the best of last month’s news on dick pics and on Scott Adams Creator of Dilbert, and then get some timeless education on the nature of Philosophical Zombies

Episode 50: Sometimes

Dave — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:02:23 +0000

In which we discuss the psychology behind fake Raptures, the questionable decisionmaking behind pop lyrics, and read some listener mail!

Episode 49: Smeckel and the Budnik

Dave — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:56:04 +0000

Join us as we make an exciting announcement, prepare for our toughest interview assignment ever, and discuss the 1970s Jewish Trucker Movie you didn’t realize you desperately want to see.

Episode 48: Parenthetical (It’s Not Me)

Dave — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:18:04 +0000

In which we discuss parentheses… an awful lot, and then we bore you with philosophy discussion, and then we talk about a television star who was in the news about a month ago (when we recorded this episode). We apologize for the delay – the editing team is lazy, and thus things in the episode may seem dated.

Episode 47: Imagining Cleavage

Dave — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:36:36 +0000

In which we discuss ways to make the show more popular, Aristotle, make Oscar predictions that were going to be late even before our production delays and touch upon the menace of underwater fascism.

Episode 46: Cultural Wigwam

Dave — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:04:18 +0000

In which we talk Philosophy, Parents and Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark

Episode 45: Bring Me The Head of Ronnie Van Zant

Dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:22:29 +0000

The semiotics of hipsterism, self-doubts about expertise, and an attempt at timely foreign news analysis kinda gets sidetracked by Southern Rock.

Episode 44: The Best 90 Minutes

Dave — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:30:16 +0000

We go long in this episode as we try to figure out our favorite stuff of 2010 and Dave Asks Chuck an Etiquette Question.

Episode 43: Werner Ranch

Dave — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:56:35 +0000

Join us as we discuss what makes a ranch, swanky Hollywood parties and more!

Episode 39: Word Up!

Dave — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:41:27 +0000

Join us as we glance past the obligatory “Ground Zero Mosque” talk to discuss the first amendment. Also, Chuck gets angry at the audience, and we contemplate targeting new demographics to up our sweet, precious numbers.

Episode 38: Nemesis

Dave — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:03:14 +0000

In which we discuss revenge, amongst other various topics (most of which are Star Trek again).

Episode 37: Race for the Grey Cup

Dave — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:59:02 +0000

Join us as we talk music, revisit the troubled Pittsburgh Pirates, and make our CFL Picks.

Episode 36: Overcoming the Adversary

Dave — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:33:53 +0000

Join us as we discuss hippies, jugglers, the Devil and other topics of deep import to our world today. Plus, insightful tech reviews of some stuff that’s on our desk

Episode 35: A Nice Hello

Dave — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:35:55 +0000

Chuck and Dave fight a power outage, discuss how the sausage is made and go highbrow/lowbrow with Melville discussion and also fart noises.

Episode 31: The Lost Episode

Dave — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:51:01 +0000

We’ve unearthed an episode thought lost forever in the mists of our recent past.

In it, we discuss Easter, God’s won/lost record, the world’s saddest superhero and more!

Episode 34: Spangles

Dave — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:36:24 +0000

In which we touch on the religious and political framework of America, but mostly discuss clowns.

Show Notes:

Toto Coelo’s “I Eat Cannibals” video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4O1A-mmBWw

Spangles’ Sweet Ride can be seen here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/80099817@N00/sets/72157624143308000/)

Episode 33: Quality

Dave — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:38:51 +0000

In which we ponder the utilitarian implications of shitty emailing.

Also, Old People Rock and a belated celebration of organized labor!

Episode 32: Maddened Mime Menagerie

Dave — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:52:53 +0000

We talk about Miracles, Magic, and the future of popular music.

Show Notes: If you have somehow survived being on the internet without seeing the music video in discussed, here ya go

Episode 30: I Went To Hogwarts

Dave — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:11:52 +0000

In this episode, we examine the Seinfeldian Nothing, the distance between two points and the many meanings of ‘make.’ Plus listener mail!

Episode 29: Antebellum

Dave — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:30:38 +0000

In which we discuss issues of epistemology, troubled heritage and etiquette.

Show Notes:

*Robot Unicorn Attack (what’s your high score?)

*Epistemology

*Dave attributed the idea of Justified True Belief to those wacky funsters, The Logical Positivists. This is incorrect. Like most ideas, this is one of Plato’s. Specifically from the Theaetetus (in which it is interestingly dismissed, even though it is accepted by many modern philosophers)

Episode 28: Hwhites

Dave — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:18:36 +0000

We try and figure out hwhat the deal with hwhites is.

Also we got snowed on.

Episode 27: Trek Talk

Dave — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:49:52 +0000

In this episode, things get a little bit scifi as we discuss gadgets (yes, the goddamned iPad) and our impending Star Trek future, as well as other mid-century science fiction films and the genitals contained therein.

Also, the Electric Light Orchestra.

Episode 26: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Dave — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:00:43 +0000

In which we attempt to understand interfaith relations through the prism of Bill Murray, discover the wonders of shopping for science supplies, and answer viewer mail!

Episode 25: Gods and Giggles

Dave — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:42:10 +0000

We’re back for the new year. Join us as we contemplate what has come to pass, then give those things stupid awards.

Show Notes:
- As promised, Slaughterhouse 90210: http://slaughterhouse90210.tumblr.com/

Episode 24: Suskuspicious

Dave — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:48:29 +0000

In which we discuss religious road advertising, strip clubs and the virtues of simplicity.

Episode 23: Bearslap

Dave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:12:53 +0000

In which we discuss holiday albums, the songs of Boston (the city not the band, but also the band), and Ursine assault.

Show notes:
- Bob Dylan’s amazing video for Must Be Santa

Episode 21: Lasercrotch

Dave — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:51:23 +0000

In which we discuss Laser-based entertainments, the looming 2012 disaster (hint: not looming, not a disaster) and some religious magazines!

Show Notes:
The phrase “That’s some Bertrand Russell shit” refers to Russell’s work on definite descriptions, a significant landmark in the philosophical study of the truth value of claims involving fictional entities.

Episode 20: People in China

Dave — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:45:01 +0000

Join us as we forecast the future of morality, celebrate Steven Tyler’s quitting of Aerosmith, and ponder the smoldering sexuality of mummies.

Show Notes:
- Could not find a single clip of that bassist guy, so that story officially went nowhere
- Aerosmith may or may not be breaking up after all. Fingers crossed, folks.

Episode 19: Hip Deep In Poop Studios

Dave — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:12:13 +0000

In which we:
- Discuss exciting new voice acting opportunities
- Go on and on about The Wisdom of Crowds
- Are a little tired

Show notes:
- Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, for free!
- Tim O’Reily’s What is Web 2.0 Speech/Article/Things

Episode 17: Xena’s Paradox

Dave — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:15:30 +0000

In this episode, we talk about all of your favorite topics, assuming your favorite topics are Logic, Mathematics, Statistics and Ghosts.

Show Notes:
-Hip Hop Multiplication!

Episode 16: Opinion House

Dave — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:35:43 +0000

Peace Prize!

Google Wave!

The Fundamentals of Dualism, Materialism, Ontology and how it all affects The Ship Of Theseus!

It’s all here, all new, all for you. Ring the bell and don’t forget to leave your shoes by the door, because you are entering OPINION HOUSE!

*explosion*

Show Notes:
-CyberTips!
-The management apologizes for the sniffles, as well as some of the music quality this week. There were issues with both sinuses and sound cables.

Episode 15: The Chuck E Cheese Band

Dave — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:13:56 +0000

In Which:
-Directors are arrested
-Musical smugness is railed against
-CIA plots are mumbled about

Show Notes:
The best article about the old tax loophole (since closed) which allowed Uwe Boll movies to be funded is here

Chunktest entries close soon. Send us your recipe by Monday. Or don’t.

Episode 14: Slaves and Mercenaries

Dave — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:07:28 +0000

In which we:
-Talk about the G20 protests that whipped through our fair city
-Talk, for some reason, mostly about the horrible losing season streak of the Pittsburgh Pirates

Show Notes:

Okay guys, I’ll admit that when running through Pirates history off the top of my head, I messed up a bit on the timeline of Andy Van Slyke vs. Barry Bonds free agency. Van Slyke was not a free agent at the time that Bonds was, so the choice between them was not literal. Instead, watching Bonds continue to blossom in SF while Van Slyke succumbed to age in Pittsburgh was merely emblematic of the horrible futility to come for the next 17 years of Pittsburgh baseball.

But really, it’s baseball, so you probably don’t care anyways.

Episode 13: Counter-Surveillance

Dave — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:48:41 +0000

In which:
-Dave assumes he knows things about both surveillance and the plight of inner cities because he’s seen The Wire
-We discuss the Kanye West thing, so we as a society can move on
-We dissect a curious, curious quote

and shit just gets generally spooky.

Episode 12: Brotherfight

Dave — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:23:07 +0000

In which we:
-Spitball ideas for Rock Band games
-Announce the Chunktest
-Contemplate a miserable afterlife of endless podcasting
-Make our fortune

Show Notes:
-Guitar Praise (http://www.guitarpraise.com/home.php), for all your Stryper and Petra and Reliant K video gaming needs!
-Send us a recipe for the Chunky Mary!

Episode 11: Worschrschrshire Sauce

Dave — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:44:27 +0000

In Which We:
-Discuss the finer points of weddings!
-Clarify some points from last week!
-Educate you about the Ship of Theseus!
-Mumble about condiments!

Episode 10: No Pomo

Dave — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:58:46 +0000

In which we:
-Consult with a literary expert
-Develop our charitable endeavors
-Get horribly lost within the tangle that is post-modernism

Show notes:

I am still pretty sure Chuck was off about Simone de Beauvoir’s ideas being particularly Foucaultian, as she was so solidly an Existentialist philosopher and more of a contemporary of Sartre than Foucault. Either way, I say you should read The Second Sex. It’s a foundational feminist text, an important piece of Existentialist philosophy, and even contains well thought out Hegelian ideas (and we do so love the Hegel).

If you want to disregard the tone of my recommendation and actually read some Helene Cixous, then I say you should just start in the deep end right with famous essay “The Laugh of the Medusa”. Good luck with that.

I mentioned Anti-Humanite, but my nerd-fu is weak, for I was in fact speaking of Ultra-Humanite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Humanite). He has been an intelligent gorilla, but as is the case with 70 year old comic book characters, his story is far more weird and incomprehensible than that.

Episode 9: Slap a Dullard

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:19:33 +0000

In Which We:
-Discuss the Socratic Dialogues
-Attempt to start a beef with our local alternative newspaper’s cultural critics
-Read some sweet, sweet listener mail

Show notes:
-Read Plato’s dialogues at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/p)
-Judge Harry Kloman for yourself! (http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A65621)

Episode 8: Plinko versus Planko

Dave — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:39:16 +0000

Alright folks, this is a long one. Buckle in as we:
-Sing like Michael McDonald. A lot.
-Have a long and legitimate philosophical discussion on the problems of Free Will and Determinism
-Have significant difficulties in saying the name of influential 20th century thinker Wittgenstein

Show notes:
-Daniel Dennett for more on the Free Will problem. At TED (http://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_dennett.html) or his book Freedom Evolves (http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Evolves-Daniel-C-Dennett/dp/0670031860)
-Nok Hockey totally exists, Chuck (http://www.backtobasicstoys.com/item/productid/244)

Episode 7: Breadbox Submarine

Dave — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:15:01 +0000

In which:
-The United States Postal Service is vigorously praised!
-Celebrities are seen at local eateries!
-Poses at rock concerts are thoughtfully considered!

and more!

Show Notes:
-Baseball Robots!

-As promised, a gratuitous Google Street View of the Eat & Park mentioned in this episode, which was actually at the Waterfront, not Waterworks.

Episode 6: Obamadong

Dave — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:46:08 +0000

In Which:

-We discuss a new, counterfactual based strategy for talk radio.

-We just nerd the fuck out.

-We invent a charming new children’s media property, which we have already copyrighted, so don’t even think about stealing it.

Sorry things were a bit late this week, I’ve been moving so we got a bit behind schedule on production.

Show Notes:
think about Raymond Scott, folks (http://www.raymondscott.com/)

Episode 5: Chuckwagon Superbowl

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:44:41 +0000

In which we advocate for high speed rail, sort of. Also, we just can’t shut up about song lyrics.

Show Notes:

Idaho does not at all intersect the 40th parallel. Whoops, there was a lot of misplaced anger there.

Episode 4: Mama’s Little Baby

Dave — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:32:50 +0000

In which a happy birthday is wished and brined items are consumed.

Episode 3: Man’s Uneasy Relationship With Technology

Dave — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:20:25 +0000

In which we discuss the etiquette of boring stories, attempt to make a $7000 movie and contemplate the sweet embrace of death.

Show Notes:

Dave was mistaken, Primer was shot on Super 16mm, not 35mm. Still pretty impressive for $7000 though.

On the other hand, Dave was totally correct in that Primer using a soft ‘i’ is a valid pronunciation of the word, for some definitions.

I’m Trying To Think: Episode 2

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:44:15 +0000

In which we discuss philosophical materialism and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, but mostly just yammer on about song lyrics.

Show notes:

Slavoj Zizek’s Princton lecture with Cornell West, “The Ignorance of Chicken”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si2EIvQo9m0

Some kids singing that Lady GaGa song about being shitfaced in a club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0FPZolbYns

I’m Trying To Think: Episode 1

Dave — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:18:14 +0000

In which we discuss Costco, debate the literary merits of the lovestruck, exorcise the demons &c.