We got a little chatty this episode and hit all kinds of topics: movies, feeling stuck, religion, IKEA, and individualism vs. independent thinking. Oh, and we talk about that one time Tana graduated with Antonio Banderas.
Good afternoon.
Tana:Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Oh man, I love that song. It's such a fun song. It's like one of the best things to come out of spirited is that song. Yes. I just want to like say it to people and be like You don't know I'm insulting you. Good afternoon. Um. You're full of shite. You know, I have to say, Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell was a great combo. That was a
Malcolm:genius combo for a movie. Especially a Christmas movie. Yeah. About the Grinch, or like a uh. Not the Grinch, um. I just meant like a Grinch like. Scrooge. Yeah, a Scrooge figure.
Tana:Yeah. No, it wasn't about a Scrooge figure. It was
Malcolm:about Scrooge. Well, no, it was about, it was about Scrooge and a Scrooge figure. Yeah. Okay. Fair. Yeah. Um, but Shelby and I also watched, uh, like the animated Christmas Carol. Oh yeah. And, um, it was like, it was one of the more realistic animations, like Polar Express was, because it came from that
Tana:same era. Kind of uncanny, but it like,
Malcolm:it actually looks. Like, pretty good. Like, it didn't look, I think it was because everyone, they gave everyone like wrinkles, so it wasn't like super smooth faces and stuff, it was like, everyone had more, I never thought about that, but you're right, yeah, had more definition and stuff, cause at first I literally could not tell if it was like actually Jim Carrey with makeup on or if it was animated, I was, cause
Tana:when I was Jim Carrey Scrooge? Yeah. Oh, okay, I don't think I saw that one. What's the, what's the, um, the other one? It's kind of late for us to be talking about Christmas movies but, um, what, what's the one, oh I wish I could remember, dang it, I wish I could remember who does the voice. I know it's like a recognizable, um, Voice person. Voice person. Voice
Malcolm:actor.
Tana:Voice actor. Voice person. Most people are voice people. Are you, are you familiar with the one where it's like they're, um, they're in a, a, um, like a Scandinavian town, um, and the implication is that, like, this guy's kind of like Santa Claus, but, uh, Oh my god, it's gonna bother me. I don't know. Uh, it's a mailman. The guy's a mailman, he's setting up a mail Klaus! That's what it's called. I've never seen that. Um, that was actually really good and that was really interesting animation. Um, Jason Schwartzman. Jason Schwartzman did the voice of, um, the mailman and uh, J. K. Simmons was
Malcolm:Klaus. Another really good animated movie. The only movie that I've watched recently was the Pinocchio movie. Really? Like, not the older one, but the newer one.
Tana:I mean, I assumed. Yeah.
Malcolm:And I was like, I was really good.
Tana:Um. I didn't know that I It
Malcolm:was kind of terrifying, too, because, you know, Nazis and stuff, but
Tana:Oh. Um. Okay. Um. Oh, in 2022? Yeah. Oh. I don't think I knew there was another Pinocchio. It's really good. It's like Oh dang, Jiminy Cricket looks kind of scary. It's
Malcolm:like really, really Actually his voice is very, like, soothing though.
Tana:And you said there's, like, Nazis in it?
Malcolm:Yeah, it takes place during World War II.
Tana:Really? Yeah. I might have to watch that.
Malcolm:Um, cause like, Pinocchio even gets like enlisted and stuff. Pinocchio,
Tana:sorry. Pinocchio in the army. By far my favorite Pinocchio is in Trek. He's just chaotic. Yeah, yeah. Chaotic, neutral Pinocchio. I love that
Malcolm:in, um, oh, another good animated movie was Postin Boots, The Last Wish. Mm!
Tana:I actually enjoyed that. And you know what? It's so funny. I watched Uncharted last night, and, oh my gosh, what's his name that does the voice for Puss in Boots? I don't know. Anyway, he was the bad guy. Well, I kind of feel like they're all bad guys, but he was like the main bad guy. Yeah. He was the rich bad guy in Uncharted. And it was, I just kept picturing Puss in Boots whenever he talked. I was like, great. Antonio Banderas. And, and I just, I felt kind of bad because I was like, man, I've reduced you to the animated cat you voiced. But, fun fact, he, Antonio Banderas, got a, which is an awesome name by the way. It really is. It just rolls
Malcolm:off the tongue in the most, Antonio Banderas, in the most satisfied way. It really does. Like it feels like a character name. It really
Tana:does. But he got. I love it. Um, an honorary degree from my college the year I graduated. And the way we were lined up, um, was in reverse alphabetical order, and we were standing on either side of the sidewalks. And then the academic, um, the, um, Professors. Alphabetical order. Yes. So like Z was closest to the podium. Um, and then, um, the professors and Antonio Banderas and like any provost or whoever, whomever, you know? Um, so then they like kind of came in and they walked through and then the A's would fold it. You know what I mean? So it would kind of, so they walked through. And they're walking, they're coming up towards me, towards, you know, everybody, not just me. But, um, and I'm looking for professors I know to be like, Hey, you know, and I recognize Antonio Banderas, but I don't recognize in the moment that he's Antonio Banderas. And so I just like wave excitedly and I'm like, Hey, and he looks at me and he goes, Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. That's funny. And at the time he was married to Melanie Griffith and she was like sitting there like taking all these photos and was like a proud mom. Like it was really cute. That's also the ceremony where um, when I went up and got my degree, um, your dad stood up and he was all the way at the back and he yelled, that's my
Malcolm:wife! That sounds like dad.
Tana:Yeah That definitely sounds like him. Yeah, that was Yep. So anyway, fun little fact. Anyway, Uncharted was not a good movie.
Malcolm:Yeah And you didn't even play the video game. So imagine how it was That's for people who played the video games.
Tana:No, yeah, it honestly felt like, I love Tom Holland, but it honestly felt like he was just playing Peter Parker Goes Exploring. Like, he was not quite as like, oh sorry ma'am, like that kind of thing, but there was a little bit of that, and it was like, you know.
Malcolm:He was just not Nathan Drake at all.
Tana:Yeah, he didn't strike me as a Nathan Drake kind of character based on the limited amounts I watched when you were playing it. Yeah. Like, I was like, Like, to be fair,
Malcolm:like, like, he was doing like a beginning of Nathan Drake's story, but even then he would have been more serious or like more knowledgeable about stuff.
Tana:Because, like, Well, no, he was very, I feel like he played him very knowledgeable. I just felt like he played it a little, a little, like, you, you mentioned, He
Malcolm:played it knowledgeable in terms of, like, history and artifacts, not in terms of, like, uh, not politics, but, like, the underground and stuff like that. And he's pretty well known on that as well.
Tana:I see what you're saying. I mean, it just wasn't as, like, Suave, as I would have expected, if that makes sense. No, I know what you mean. It was like, almost like some of the stuff he did was accidental. Yeah. Um, which is what you had said, like, before, you were telling me, you were like, yeah, it's almost like he accidentally does something to win the fight, but you think Nathan Drake would be pretty on point. Yeah,
Malcolm:he's, he knows what he's doing. Yeah. Like, even in like, earlier in his career, he's He trips over himself, but he's still like
Tana:versed, you know, they ended the movie with a, um, an end credit scene that indicated that they were gonna do a second movie, but I, I don't think it did well,
Malcolm:so it, the movie didn't do well, so it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't do one. Yeah. Although, I will say the thing of, spoiler warning of the ships hanging off of the helicopters,
Tana:that was pretty. That was actually kinda cool.
Malcolm:That that is uncharted. That is, oh yeah.
Tana:That is a, I did think it was funny. Like, that's a video game thing, right? They roll up on the beach and they're like, like looking like hell. And um, the like person out at the resort is like, oh man, you guys look like you've been through a lot. And it was like, oh yeah, I just, you know, did this, did this and did this. And it was like ridiculous things and the guy was like, oh yeah that happened to me once and I was like that has got to be the guy who voiced Nathan Drake in the video game because it's like yeah okay yeah sure that happened to you once so yeah
Malcolm:I seriously recommend if you're like all of the Uncharted games are really good um and I remember the first time I played Uncharted 4 and it was just like I was like this this game is crazy But I love it. Yeah, I was like this this game is so stupid.
Tana:Are they still making Uncharted games? Or is it kind of like when it's course? I don't
Malcolm:know they uh It's been a
Tana:little bit
Malcolm:It's been a little bit since they've made an Uncharted game, but and the last Uncharted game they made was like a Spin off with another character wasn't even Nathan Drake. Oh, really? Yeah, okay But I mean sometimes games they just take It's gonna take a while for them to develop and who knows maybe at the next Game Awards or next, um, Xbox or, oh no, it's, it's PlayStation mostly. So at the next PlayStation showcase they might announce it for like Uncharted 5.
Tana:But Well, yeah, so, um, I watched that. I've been watching, I feel like I've been watching a lot of TV and movies the last couple weeks because I've been sick. And You can hear I'm still, like, a little stuffed up, um, but, um, I'm, I'm hopeful that this is the end.
Malcolm:Well, you've been, uh, watching Reacher.
Tana:Yes, um, so the first day I was sick, your dad and I watched the entire first season. Which he was like, by the end of it, he was like, I don't want to ever do that again. Like, he was just like, I was really surprised. And he liked Reacher, but he just, like, Yeah,
Malcolm:he doesn't usually like to sit through something that long.
Tana:But I didn't really feel like doing anything else, you know what I mean? So, um, yeah, we watched it and it was pretty good. Um, I like, this season seems a little bit more interesting so far. Um, it's, I feel like I just have to appreciate it for what it is. Like, it is not super high quality spy intrigue, you know what I mean? Like, it is, it is, it's the He's not really a
Malcolm:spy, though, that's the thing. Right,
Tana:I know, I'm trying to think of how else to, it's, it's a, it's a leverage type of thing, you know, like, it's, kind of, yeah, a little, um, I love leverage, and don't, don't get me wrong, like, there's a whole leverage channel on Amazon Prime that, or their free VE, or whatever they call it, and I will watch I will seriously like turn that on and just watch even half an episode of Leverage. Cause I've seen them all like five times. So I know what they, how they all end. Um, but they're fun. Like I, they're ridiculous in a lot of ways. Like they're not meant to be. Taken super seriously and that's kind of how I feel about Reacher like I
Malcolm:feel like it's pretty, I feel like at least compared to Leverage it is much more grounded. Yeah
Tana:I think it's more grounded than Leverage but it also like like I don't think the guy Alan Richson who plays Reacher like I don't think he's that great an actor. I really don't but I
Malcolm:think it's also hard to play his character because like I've been reading Killing Floor and he does a really good job of really, of reacher because he speaks exactly like how Reacher thinks and talks in the books. Hmm hmm. And so some of it might just be limited by his
Tana:character maybe. Yeah. Yeah. But. But it's, it's still good. I enjoy it. Yeah. Um, and I've been watching Fargo, which was amazing. Oh my god. I never watched Fargo until this season and like each season it, it's an anthology series. So like each season's kind of its own thing, you know what I mean? That's what they're doing with Reacher too. Well, no, these are completely different characters. Gotcha. Yeah, so it's like American Horror Story where it's like a whole new
Malcolm:Well, the same actors playing different characters. Yeah. For American Horror
Tana:Story. Okay, so then there's even different actors. Yeah. You know what I mean? So it's not like that, but, um, I never watched it before until, um, we were in, um, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Uh, for Christmas and, uh, my parents were gonna watch it and I was like, I'll watch it. And then the last, the last episode was just this past week and it was like, it was so good. It was, it was so good. Like just such great commentary on the nature. Um, violence and debt, even. And it's interesting combo. It is a very interesting combo because they play with this idea of debt as in like literal debt, like credit cards and you know, all this stuff, but also debt in terms of like sin and blood, blood debt. Yeah, actually very much. Um, and so It's just very interesting, I think, how they kind of play with those two things. Like, quite literal debt and then like a more, you know, Fancy debt? Fancy debt! The more, I'm making a, a, a, a hand, a hand signal that I guess kind of looks fancy, but Like theological, maybe, like Yeah, it looks like you're calling your butler, like Philosophical debt Um, and so I started re watching the, uh, or not re watching because I never watch them for the first time, but I started watching the other seasons. That's a really good show. It's a really good show. But yeah, I'm almost like at the point now where I'm like, I'm tired of watching TV and movies, which usually does not happen. Um. But just cause I just don't, I don't feel well. I have no energy. I don't, you know, and it's like, what am I gonna do? I'm just gonna watch something. Then you play video games. You know, I, I, I don't have my own, you know, like video game system, but I wonder if I would Actually, no, because my carpal tunnel syndrome, I think I would just have a difficult time doing that. Probably,
Malcolm:I mean, as long as you tend to. Like, long sessions.
Tana:I mean, that's why I was really bummed about the VR. Like, we got the VR. A few years ago. And I was super excited to do Beat Saber. Yeah. But then it was like, I can only do it for a little bit and then my arms and hands would be tingling. And I'm like, dang it. Like that's super fun. And I was excited because it had like Beat Saber is super fun. Exercisy things too. Like it had, you know, but yeah. Anyway. Um, but yeah. And actually that kind of makes me think about Um, another thing this week, so, uh, I agreed to go to this, um, I agreed to go to this like little like seminar thingy at the library. Gotcha. Yeah. And. I did not want to go because I was not feeling well, but I promised to go for someone else and take notes. And, um, so I was like, okay, you know, so I went and I like dragged my butt out there and I was, cause I was still feeling sick. This was before I went to the doctor and got a Z Pak so I could like knock this infection out, you know? And, um, Uh, yeah, anyway, and, but once I got there, there's a couple different things, like one, it was a whole bunch of non profits and I recognized one person and that, that was just such a change from 15 years ago,
Malcolm:you know, be like, Oh, I know you, I know you, I know you.
Tana:Yeah. Yeah. Um. Like I used to, that used, you know, I used to be the executive director of a small nonprofit here and I knew everybody, you know, not everybody, but I knew a lot of people. Um, and it just feels so weird to be like disconnected that from that, you know, cause now I work for an international nonprofit and so I don't like really work with people. Um, locally. And then the other thing was like, even though I hated getting ready and I was like, I don't want to go out, uh, you know, um, I was surprised by how much I liked being out and about, you know? And so it just got me thinking about like, I wonder how often we fall into ruts and it's what feels comfortable to us and so we don't yeah, so we don't Like try to get out of them because we think we're in our comfort zone and where we want to be but then like if we would kind of step out of them like maybe life would be better, you know, like I enjoyed being out and about and I also realized how much I miss like knowing people in the area of when what they're doing, you know, and
Malcolm:Yeah, I don't know I feel like I'm pretty accurate with where I'm happy and comfortable, because I just, I just don't like going to other places very much. I
Tana:don't like going places.
Malcolm:I mean it's true, I mean it even gives me like a certain level of anxiety and like, not fear. I think fear is a little, is a little much, but I guess it's kind of where anxiety stems from. So, I don't know, but I just like, I like being in the safety of
Tana:my home. Yeah, I would say that you've always been a little bit more like that than I have. I think for me, it's, I, I very much struggle, um, with, Um, my chronic illness because that is the, the source of the not going and doing things like I used to go out. Well, I've always been a little bit of a homebody, but I used to be more willing to go out and you know, do things. Um, and then I got sick and Over time, my energy levels and my ability to, like, keep up with things just has diminished. And, but the struggle is, with, um, with dysautonomia, is you have something called exercise fatigue. Which always makes people laugh, and they're like, yeah, I get that too, I don't want to exercise. And I'm like, no, you don't understand, there's a difference. I've felt the normal exercise fatigue. of like, you're pushing too hard, and you know what I mean? This is different. It's like, you're exercising, or maybe not even like what you would consider exercise, quote unquote, but like, walking around, going up and down stairs, like, do you know what I mean? Just like being out in the world. Um, and you, and it's not just like, Oh man, this is, this is strenuous. I got to push myself a little bit harder to finish lifting these weights or like whatever it is. Oh my gosh. All of a sudden I feel like I'm coming down with the flu. Like it's a very strange, you know. And the problem is, is that in order to build back up your stamina, you have to exercise, but then you don't, like you feel, you have this feeling like you're coming down with the flu and you don't know which times it's going to be like you fall apart and which times it's just, you needed to push a little bit more so you could build, you know what I mean? Like, cause I've done the whole like. Oh, I'm fine. I'll just push a little more and then I've been out of commission for two hours. Collapse, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um, so it's, it's, it's difficult because I feel like in some ways being forced to push through that is good. And at other times being forced to push through that is bad. You know, it's like when we lived in Blacksburg, I had a, we, I went back and forth on that. Uh, because we didn't have a car. And so, like, the one time I got really sick and I had to go to the doctor. Unfortunately, the bus went right to the doctor's, like, right from our apartment. Like, it dropped off, like, right in front of the doctor's. I don't remember that. That was, it was so great, which is why I chose that doctor. I was like, well, it's right there. Um, like, literally at the top of the hill. Ease of access. Yeah. Um, but then it was like, oh, we need to call in this prescription for you. And I was like, there is no bus that comes by here. And takes me over to the pharmacy. Like, cause it's like, it was like a half mile. Yeah. You know what I mean? And it was snowing, you know? And so I'm like, I'm super sick and I had to like walk the half mile to get my meds and then like walk the half mile back to the bus stop to get back home, you know? And like, that kind of stuff was terrible. Man, I
Malcolm:was, I was so in shape in Virginia. Oh my gosh, so was I. We just, we just had to walk or ride our bikes everywhere. And that's like, that's honestly. A big reason why I've like, genuinely considered moving to, to like, Europe or something, because that's just, that's how it is everywhere. You just walk or ride your bike everywhere. And that sounds so wonderful to me, because I fucking
Tana:hate cars. Or public transit is just a lot better. Yeah. Like, I mean, we have, we have public transit here, but it's a hub and spoke system. So it's like, you have to go downtown and then switch buses and then go, like, so it takes a long time.
Malcolm:I just, man, I just hate cars.
Tana:You or you're like your dad. I know.
Malcolm:Um, it's another reason I don't like going out. I don't, I don't like traveling much at all. Mm-Hmm. Um,
Tana:yeah. I wonder if you would get out more if like, if it was more walkable. Like probably. I, I just saw, especially if
Malcolm:it was like, like my friends lived just down the road, like well in Knox work. Yeah. Like I would just, yeah. I would probably be at their houses all the time.
Tana:Yeah. I often think about that because, um, uh. I definitely, having to be kind of pushed in Blacksburg, like, even when I didn't feel like it to ride my bike or have to walk a little because the bus only went so far, definitely helped keep me in shape, I think. Um, but also, it is, yeah, it's a lot easier
Malcolm:to just Here you can't, it's not like you have to walk a half mile to get to your car and then drive somewhere. It's like you just walk outside, get in your car, drive to the place, go into their house
Tana:or business or whatever. Which makes certain things a lot easier. Like, I hated grocery shopping in Blacksburg because it was just such a pain in the butt. Like, either we had to take our bikes with the bags and load them up and, you know what I mean, um, or I had to take the I thought it was kind of fun, but I didn't like If we were all going or like at least two of us were going I didn't mind it so much But a lot of times I ended up going grocery shopping on my way back from campus and that meant lugging bags from the grocery store to the bus stop and you know what I
Malcolm:mean? I think for me as well as between School and home was the grocery store, so if I ever wanted anything, I literally just on my way home
Tana:would just grab something. It really literally was on your way. And it was a lot easier if you went and got like a few things at a time.
Malcolm:Yeah, and even, even you guys would text me during school or something and be like, hey, could you pick up more milk or something?
Tana:That's true. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I was just watching something this morning about, um, how, uh, Somebody was reading that like pretty much every single factor of life improves when cities are more walkable. Yeah. Um, they're like physical health, mental health, you know, like it improves access to resources. One
Malcolm:thing I wish like everybody did was like Japan's highway system where they have the bike lane in the middle of the highway. Yeah. Like, that's in between the two sections, and then it's shaded by solar panels, and then the solar panels are what powers the highway. So it's just like a perfect, it's just a perfect system. It's a shaded walkway slash bike lane and there's the highway on both sides and then all of the street lights are powered by solar
Tana:power. That shades the walkway. That reminds me, I had the weirdest dream about, um, biking downtown. Where, um, your dad was like, oh yeah, I'll show you the way to bike downtown the easiest way.
Malcolm:I still remember that. I could still ride the route to downtown in Blacksburg if we went back there.
Tana:Well, this was here, Toledo. I know, I was just But yeah, downtown, oh man, that was a great ride. That was a great ride. Terrific ride. Um But in my dream it was like these weird, like, you had to like walk up all of these strange stairs and like kind of like push your way through all these like strange, it was really
Malcolm:weird. It was like Harry Potter, you had to run straight into the
Tana:Practically. Like it was, it was very, very strange. Um, and I don't know why that was in my dream, but it was just like, yeah, being like walking Claire,
Malcolm:your mind needed to sort something about walking around. I don't
Tana:know. I don't know. It was really weird.
Malcolm:Yeah, I think part of the reason I also don't like going places is like a lot of times if you go somewhere it's for responsibility of some sort whether that's to yourself or someone else and that usually means there's like a Time that you can't leave And I think it being inescapable is like
Tana:Interesting. Because like if
Malcolm:I could just go to work and then just leave whenever, first of all, that's obviously not going to happen, but I think I'd be so much more comfortable with going to work and I would have no problem going to work and I'd probably even stay the whole time. But the fact that I can't just like leave when I'm getting uncomfortable being at somewhere else, like gives me so much anxiety. Or, um, even like, I know I can leave my friend's party whenever I want to. I still feel obligated to like stay there until other people are leaving. Yeah. And, um, so that's more my fault.
Tana:That's really interesting.
Malcolm:But, like, if I'm just, like, going somewhere to, like, sit down and work on stuff, then I can just
leave
Tana:whenever I want to. Yeah, you and Shelby will just, like, go sit at a coffee shop for a while. You'll be there for a long time.
Malcolm:Yeah. Although, that's also a little different because sometimes we're on her schedule, not mine, and so then it's the same situation. I see.
Tana:Um And you don't drive, so Yeah. You can't just be like, I'm leaving you here. Now that you would do that. But that's interesting. Yeah. Obligations. That's, um, I wonder if that's why some people just bail on parties rather than not go to them at all. You know, like some people just won't show up for something.
Malcolm:I thought you said the same thing. Bail on parties instead of going to them at all.
Tana:Like Some people will, instead of just going and being like, You know what, I'm so sorry, I can only stay for a half hour, and then leaving, they'll just not go. Oh, I see. Yeah. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. And I wonder if there's that, like, it's almost like it's better to not go at all and just like, um, Like, somehow that's viewed as better than going and only staying shortly?
Malcolm:I think that might also be why people like having parties here is because I leave no obligation for people to stay And I think people have like realized that they can come here and leave whenever they want to like there really is no Like you have to stay until this time I think the only thing is really D& D but even then if people were like, I'm just tired and I need to go home I'd be like, okay, I can wrap it up Yeah, that's true But like I have a lot of people that will come to my parties and would Will be like, I, I'm only gonna stay for like an hour, but I just wanted to stop by and like say hello or play a game or something real quick, and then they usually end up saying later.
Tana:I wonder how all of this, I'm really curious how all this social obligation stuff is going to change with all the different generations, you know? There's definitely
Malcolm:less societal thinking nowadays. Like I think, I think now there's way more individual thinking than there was before. There was, because now there's not as much like Like, if you're going to a party, you need to show up on time and you need to stay there until the end and then leave. Unless you have another obligation. It's now like, if you're going to show up to a party, just show up and then leave. Whatever you want. Um.
Tana:So you're, when you're, what you just phrased, you mean more like, um, less feeling of obligations to like, The group thinking? Yes. Of society? Okay.
Malcolm:So like, so things that have been established by society like, um, what you're supposed to wear, like when you're supposed to be at places, how you're supposed to eat. Yeah, that we're moving away from that so much and everyone's just now becoming an independent thinker Which I know to some people is like murder
Tana:But I think there's two sides to that like I Think it's good that we're questioning long held assumptions because There is this strange thing where, um, people will be like, that's not normal. This isn't what's acceptable. And I'm like, okay, but who decided what was acceptable? You know what I mean? Like people in power, typically white people, typically male and Christian decided what was societal obligation. You know what I mean? It's like our conversation
Malcolm:the other day, not on the podcast. This was separate. But, um. Where we talked about where like certain things came from. And I was saying that I feel like a lot of it came from rich people do something consistently between all rich people. And so then all the, and so then all the poor people will emulate that to make themselves feel more rich. Right, right, right. And I feel like that is also not happening as much anymore. Um. Because now a lot of people are like, I don't care what the rich people do.
Tana:Well, I think there's also a lot more people, like a lot, there's less ability to do the things and to mimic them because just financially there's a larger gap.
Malcolm:Well, I don't just mean with like things they have, but just things they do as well. I mean,
Tana:I think, so I think that kind of individualistic thinking, I'm not going to say individualistic. Independent thinking is good. But then I think there's another kind of individualism that kind of sucks where our society is very individualistic and very much focused on like my personal freedoms and like stuff like that and so we are less concerned about doing what is good for us collectively which I think sucks. Yes
Malcolm:and no. Um, I think some people are like that, and I think some people aren't, because I think there are plenty of people that don't think the way that they're told to think as a collective, but then their new way of thinking becomes the best thing for the collective.
Tana:Yeah, I would agree with that.
Malcolm:Um, cause they have some, I mean this is a story as old as time, that some really smart person comes up with something that is against the beliefs of basically everyone, but is true, or at least would make things better. Um, like, the earth is round, and is not the center of The universe.
Tana:Um. And then other people come over to their side of thinking and Yeah. Yeah. And,
Malcolm:uh, so now I think there's That, that if there's more of those independent thinkers.
Tana:Yeah, I think we're talking about two different things. I think one, one is independent thinking, not feeling like you have to go with the flow and coming up with your own ideas and kind of bucking expectations. I mean
Malcolm:independent, not selfish.
Tana:Yeah, I think yeah, there's that, there's the, and then there's this, uh, Individualism, this emphasis on individualism that to me feels selfish, like you're saying. Um, and it's very, people are so focused on their own, like, my individual freedom, my this, my that, that they don't, care about what's maybe collectively good for society. Like why would you take some of my taxes to help pay for this person who doesn't have a job so they can eat? Like, yeah. You know what I mean? And I think individualism is what's like screwing up our country because people just are only focused on their own. well being. And the funny thing is that a lot of that was grounded in religion, which makes zero sense because the Bible or Christian religion, because the Bible is, is so collective. It is so much about the collective and people are just like my personal Jesus, my personal relationship with Jesus. Which, I also want to know, I also want to grab them and be like, what Jesus are you talking about? Because like, The one who died for everyone? Right, like the, the, the way you behave is so antithetical to who Jesus was, you know. Oh my gosh, the whole,
Malcolm:the whole my Jesus thing is so annoying. It's like, well my Jesus would think this,
Tana:this, and this. Oh, Marjorie Taylor Greene just the other day was like, I believe in Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus? The Democrats don't believe in Jesus. And I was just like, I do not for one second believe that you believe in, in Jesus, lady. Like that you, that you like worship Jesus and like study what Jesus did and think this is a way I should live my life. Because I just don't
Malcolm:understand that in general. I don't understand studying religious texts and being like, this is how we should live as a people.
Tana:I kinda, I get it because it's searching for meaning. Like, and, and, and religion feels like a place where you can find meaning. Yeah,
Malcolm:I just mean I'm not gonna look through a collapsed civilization to study how to make my civilization good? If that makes
Tana:sense? Well, it's not, it's not that it's about a collapsed civilization. Um, the idea behind any of these religious writings is that some sort of, um, Supernatural being gave us instructions right and so I wish it's it's It feels
Malcolm:more like the IKEA instructions instead of LEGO instructions. It
Tana:does sometimes, yes. Actually, that's a really great analogy. I really, because I feel like IKEA instructions are sometimes up to interpretation, you know? And you're like, how do I translate this to English? Does the snail actually go here? Right, yeah. And what is this, what is this weird stick figure person doing here, you know, like what action is this?
Malcolm:I think you really need to take a page out of Lego. Lego's instructions are so clear. You hear that,
Tana:God? Yes.
Malcolm:Can you change
Tana:IKEA for us? Wait, well, also, you know, make things a little bit more
Malcolm:clear. I thought you were just asking him to fix
Tana:IKEA. No. Although, yeah, please. Um, no, I just, and I think there are people who are like, the Bible is clear, and they're like, I read my English translation and I know exactly what it means, and I'm like, yeah, okay. It was not written in English Okay But I mean there is something I think Comforting about believing that there's something greater than yourself out there, and yeah, they have the answers. Yeah,
Malcolm:I Just think it's hard to that's something up for interpretation Is the thing that you use to lead your?
Tana:Yes, that is true and I think that is why so many people claim it is not open to interpretation and why they claim that their interpretation is the correct clear cut, you know, we have it right, you have it wrong. I mean, I think that's so weird.
Malcolm:Use the resources you have in front of you. I guess that would actually be a resource that's in front of you. But, you know what I mean. Like, think about the situation that's going on, and make interpretations that way. Don't try to find some hidden meaning in the Bible to solve the answers for you. At least if you're leading a country.
Tana:Yeah, well, I mean, that's a whole other ball of wax. I mean, because people will say that we were a Christian nation founded on Christian principles and so, um, the Bible, but they're wrong. We were founded on freedom from religion.
Malcolm:We were founded on blood and
Tana:rape. Well, I mean, there's that too, but. And when it comes to what they declared, what, um I mean, that is very Christian. You know, um, yeah. Um, what was declared was, I mean, what the reason why the revolution happened was they didn't want people telling us what to do. You know? Yeah. Um Get it. So, I don't know. We're not founded on Christian beliefs, okay?
Malcolm:I don't understand that anyway. What does it matter what we were founded on? If it's not a thing that we want to follow anymore, then we just don't
Tana:follow it. Yeah, that's another interesting People's
Malcolm:like Yeah. People's like, undying loyalty to things just because it was the thing before. But doesn't actually have a reason to be loyal to it is so weird to me. I don't
Tana:understand that. It is kind of funny because we had, I wonder when the last amendment to the constitution was. Because I feel like we had a lot of amendments initially. They're like, oh no, you know what, we messed this up, we need this, this, this, and this. I think we still have
Malcolm:like 50 or something.
Tana:Um, yeah. More than that. And I feel like now there's certain people who are like, the Constitution cannot be, it, I mean, I feel like it is, it is what's in place, and so if you are, say, the President, you should, you know, say, uphold it. Um, but, uh, If we decide as a country that, you know, our values have changed, you know, it is kind of weird, like with like the second amendment, right? Like people were like, Oh, my right to bear arms. They completely ignore what was originally actually meant by that amendment. But we'll point to it and be like, that's my right shined in the constitution. Like, yeah, but we didn't have those types of guns back then. And like, you know what I mean? Like there's, it's just, uh, I always
Malcolm:love when people will then be like, well, then do that with other amendments. And it's like, yeah, we need to change a lot of shit. Yeah. Right. Yeah. I'm like, I'm not just picking on one thing. I'm picking on a whole, the whole constitution is. We just need to read we just need to scrap it and
Tana:redo it I don't know that I would go as far as saying just scrap it and redo it But I think there's a lot of things that we need that I think we need to
Malcolm:change having clear because like everything was written in a different form of talking to
Tana:Well, I don't think we've changed our legalese. There's still weird things like be it observed be it resolved that blah blah blah blah. Even if it's
Malcolm:the same things and we're just rewriting it for clarity, that would be
Tana:fine. You know, and that's an interesting point too, because it feels like our legal documents should not be open for interpretation. Yeah, no.
Malcolm:So That's like saying our laws are from the Bible. And then everyone's like, okay, so then what are the laws?
Tana:Yeah, well, and there are people who want It is kind of ironic to me that it's funny when Christians are like, well, we're based on the Bible and we should have all of these Biblical laws in place, but then they will go on and on about how Sharia law is terrible, and Sharia law is basically Biblical, like, not Biblical, but like, religious law based on the Quran, I think? Now I'm wondering if I'm misremembering what Sharia law is. So it's like they're criticizing one religion for wanting to have a law based on a religious document, but then they're like, we want our law based on a religious document. Like, like Yeah, Sharia is a body of religious laws that forms part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. Okay, yeah. So it's like, they will criticize the concept of Sharia law and be like, that's terrible, but then be like, oh, the Bible should be the law of the land, and I'm like, okay, well then you need to change how you're critiquing Sharia law. You just don't like it then because it's Muslim. Probably. Because it's, it's from Islam, it's not, not because, yeah, anyway, it's just such a weird, people are inconsistent with their critiques of things, which I'm sure also I
Malcolm:wouldn't, counts for me too, but I wouldn't make something that is left up for interpretation as our law for our country or something that is set in like mysticism and so on and so forth.
Tana:Well, there's, and that's, I mean, that happens with all kinds of laws, even the ones that weren't like based in some sort of religion, right? Like that's why we have so many lawsuits and that's why we have judges to be like, well, the spirit of the law is this, like, or the letter of the law is that, you know? And yeah. Um, but anyway. Look at us just solving America's problems. Just let us rewrite the Constitution. We'll be good.
Malcolm:Just be careful who you let rewrite it.
Tana:Yeah, oh my gosh. And that would see that would cause a whole other Who would be the Constitutional Congress who would make that up? God. Yeah, actually, there
Malcolm:is This is why I just want to move out of the country. I don't want to be here anymore. I'll let, I'll let America implode. That's fine.
Tana:There is no way I would want the Constitution rewritten right now because We're sorry, that's individualism. Who knows what would, who would be in that? I mean, I don't want Marjorie Taylor Greene or Matt Gaetz. I don't know if I
Malcolm:want anyone that is currently in government rewriting the constitution.
Tana:It's a pretty basic name. It is. Oh, and AOC. I like AOC. She's a family character. She's smart. She is smart. Ah, no. But he does feel like a superhero. I think his name is Jeff Jackson. He's a first term congressman from like North Carolina or something. And the dude is like smart and calm and like, you know what I mean? And measured and like, I'm like, we need more people like you. He doesn't, he doesn't. He's smart. Do stuff for the camera, and, you know what I mean. Um, and Anastasia Ocasio Cortez. She's super duper smart. And Katie Porter, she's super duper
Malcolm:smart. You know what, we should just have Keanu Reeves rewrite the
Tana:Constitution. There you go. And enforce it. Yes, oh gosh. John Wick style. He's like actually
Malcolm:military trained at this point. Oh my
Tana:gosh, he could probably kick all of our butts. He's like
Malcolm:actively trained in combat for all the movies and so he's like proficient
Tana:Yeah, probably he probably could really well defend himself if anybody actually dared to, you know Get on him. But anyway, all right. Wow. We were really all over the place today. We were that's fine. We talked about Christmas movies, Uncharted,
Malcolm:Walkability in Cities. I was going to continue talking about movies, but then we started talking about the exhaustion thing. I was like, okay, then I'll talk about exercise then. And then we got to politics, and I was like, okay, I guess I'll talk about politics then.
Tana:You know, it was kind of fun to kind of run the gamut of topics. Yes.
Malcolm:But Yeah, let's be real, if we don't try to, this is what it would be every week if we didn't try to rein it in. Like, have a topic? Yeah.
Tana:Yeah, so if you listen, let us know, do you prefer us to have a topic, or to just sort of wander around all of the things that are going through our heads? Have four
Malcolm:names for the episode. Yeah,
Tana:yeah. I mean, there's, there's podcasts that do that, they just kind of talk about the different, you know, yeah, things going on. Alright, well. But, uh, yeah, well, I think it's time to go, is it time to go? It's time to go. It's time to go.