Host Bob Woodley examines the news in a way that might have flown under the radar in Not the Headlines! Let's Go Back Through the Listening Tube examines historical points of relevance from the week, and how they influence today's world. Bob will also welcome guests who have something interesting to talk about. All three options are available separtely. It might be serious, it might be funny, but it's always informative.
Want to be a guest on The Listening Tube? Send Bob Woodley a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/thelisteningtube
Want to be a guest on The Listening Tube? Send Bob Woodley a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/thelisteningtube
SPEAKER_00
The Listening Tube presents not the headlines. I'm Bob Woodley from The Listening Tube. The other day I was sitting in a bar with a total of four other people, and on the television, it looked like Crystal Gale was promoting a new album. The sound was off, so I can't be sure. I didn't even know she was still alive, and I recalled her being a very good singer, known for her extremely long hair. Imagine being her husband, always hearing, ow, you're on my hair. Anyway, looking at her on television, I couldn't help but notice that her forehead never moved. Flat as a pancake. I remarked to the couple sitting to my right that it looked to me that she had some kind of botulinum toxin treatments. The woman agreed and added that she knew a woman who had regular treatments and as a result no longer had the ability to smile. I was stunned by that. I don't know a lot about botulinum toxins, except that it's one of the deadliest substances on the planet. And if it doesn't kill you, it's likely to wear off to some degree. That's why you have to get it again and again to maintain it. So if you lost your ability to smile, you could probably get it back if you gave up looking like you want. And therein lies the trade-off. It reminds me of when I realized I needed to quit smoking cigarettes. After more than forty years, it got to the point where I couldn't laugh out loud without coughing. I love to laugh. It takes a lot to get me to do it, especially since Sam Kinnison died, but I still enjoy it and couldn't imagine not being able to laugh without coughing for the rest of my life. Then I hear there's a woman who gave up the ability to smile. I can't help but wonder, does she still feel the smile inside? Does her mind still register the stimuli that makes her smile? Does the desire to smile get from her brain to just short of her lips? Does the brain then ignore it as if it's light coming from the sun to the earth, taking eight minutes at the speed of light to get to the planet only to be stopped by your body before it reaches the ground, causing your shadow? Or if the ability to smile is prevented by botulinum toxin, will the brain eventually stop trying? Will this woman's inability to smile lead to her being unable to feel the emotion she is unable to physically display? If he can't smile and laugh, what's the point of being happy about something? There is an exception, Stephen Hawking. He lost the ability to smile and pretty much everything else but think. Fortunately for us, he was very good at thinking before he lost the ability to move. He's no longer with us, but I wonder if he felt joy in the same way he did prior to his ailment. But the rest of us are just normal people. Or maybe this botulinum toxin lady is a step ahead of us. Maybe she's better off if she can't express her emotions. Revealing how you feel about certain subjects can lead to ridicule and exile in today's society. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just sit there expressionless. Being able to hide your true emotions through a medical procedure is like buying a poker face. Nobody can tell how you feel, but you can see everyone else's hand in the reflection of emotion on their faces. You've probably never seen my face, so I'm not emoting anything in that respect as you listen. But surely there's emotion in my voice sometimes. So although her face doesn't reveal her emotions, her voice might. That's assuming the botulinum toxin hasn't prevented her from forming her lips enough to create words. If she can't smile, then hey, what else can't she do? Maybe words become a problem. I don't know. Look, this isn't a treatise on botulinum toxin. I'm just thinking out loud about the consequences of not just keeping your feelings to yourself, or the inability to do so. I'm wondering if we're being guided toward not expressing ourselves in many ways without the threat of being shouted down by leftists, socialists, and progressives who are never happy unless they're forcing people to adhere to yet another cause without question, without expression, nor the ability to show one. Recently, a California politician who's been an advocate for trans people throughout his political career was verbally harassed into leaving a trans event because he didn't support Hamas. The guy is Jewish. It's not likely he's going to support Hamas or any Palestinian cause. But instead of letting him speak and show his support for trans people, he hurriedly walked away without saying a word. Trying like hell to be as expressionless as a person could be. Turns out, if you're a politician who needs that skill, we now have a procedure for that. Maybe there are politicians who've been using the procedure all along. Maybe that's why some of them can say such incredibly stupid things while keeping a straight face. But getting back to my face, it's been around the block and showing signs of wisdom. While my forehead is ample, I don't want it to look like a billboard. So no botulinum toxin for me. And anyway, I've already mastered the ability to not express my emotions if I don't want to. People tell me I'm hard to read. But you get me. Not because I'm expressionless, but because you hear me express myself. Thank you for putting your ear to the listening tube. I'm Bob Woodley for Thou Ad Infinitum.
