Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

P&C drink and review Xingu black lager and then take a look back at the government response to the Covid crisis. Do you remember all of this? "Three weeks to flatten the curve" became "everyone must stay inside until we have a vaccine." From the start, they tried to crush the lab-leak explanation as a wild-eyed conspiracy theory. We were given contradictory nonsense about masks. We were told to wipe down surfaces to prevent the spread. We had to stay 6 feet apart. We were told that natural immunity is no good. Healthy young people were told they needed to get the vaccine. Everyone had to stay indoors, even though Vitamin D helps against Covid. Why did virologists and epidemiologists make all the rules? Why didn't we consult other experts? Economists, educators, psychologists ...? Did our leaders consider the human cost? The economic cost? Why did the government, academia, the media, and social media all sing the same tune and promote the same agenda? Isn&#

The boys drink and review Troeg's Nugget Nectar, then discuss how men are stealing all the top places in women's rankings. While thinking about transgender ideology, the boys look at ... * Contradictions in transgender ideology * What "transgender" means * Can people be "trapped in the wrong body"? * Examples of how men are stealing women's thunder * Where have all the feminists gone? The gender fluidity / trans perspective is internally inconsistent, illogical, unscientific, and mind-bogglingly stupid. Pigweed and Crowhill try their best to inject some sense and logic into the debate.

With special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Paulaner pils, then discuss Lent and fasting. Lent is the penitential season before Easter. Crowhill gives a basic history of Lent, and the boys discuss some common Lenten customs. The 40 days of Lent are symbolic, similar to other 40-day events in the Bible. Modern Lenten fasts are usually not as stringent as fasts in the past, and especially not as strict as the fasts the monks used to do. Which leads us to Pigweed and Crowhill's beer fast. The Paulaner monks came up with a particularly strict fast in which they ate nothing and only drank beer and water for Lent. Pigweed and Crowhill tried their own version of this fast and had nothing but beer and water for three days. They describe their experiences.

The boys drink and review Sweet Baby Banana by DuClaw, then discuss two short works by Tolkien. In this latest installment of their "shortcut to the classics" series, Longinus joins Pigweed and Crowhill to review these two interesting stories. Niggle is a quiet little man who would like to spend his life on his grand work, which was a painting of a tree. His neighbor, Parish, keeps interrupting him with irritating requests. Niggle helps Parish when he can, but fails to prepare for a long journey, and is caught unawares when the day comes. The story can be interpreted as an allegory about death, Purgatory, and the beatific vision. It also touches on the legacy of a man and his art, and man as a subcreator. Farmer Giles is a much sillier story about a simple man who becomes the unlikely local hero that scares away a giant and defeats a dragon, with the help of a magical sword and a talking dog. These stories illustrate two different elements of Tolkien's writing: philosophical seriousness, an

P&C drink and review an Irish Stout from Nashville, then discuss five topics in five minutes each.  * Self Love on Valentine's Day. What do you think of someone who sends her love to herself on Valentine's Day? P&C think that's ridiculous. Love is outwardly directed, not inwardly.  * Brandon and the Chinese Balloons. Was this the most embarrassing thing for the U.S. in decades? We showed the whole world that we're indecisive and incompetent and that we overreact when we're caught with our pants down. A total embarrassment.  * The non-binary soprano. Pigweed took the sprouts to an orchestral performance to expose them to some genuine art. The soprano was wonderful. But ... it was a they/them, and the program was full of all kinds of confusing gibberish.  * Liberal tells. What words or phrases immediately tell you that someone is a liberal? Undocumented immigrant. Always talking about gender. Everything is explained by hate or bigotry. Safe spaces. Decolonization. Problematic. Person

P&C drink "Watch out for Bears" brown ale from Calvert Brewing, then discuss the history of Singapore.  It starts with the East India Company, which wanted a port in this strategic location between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca leading into the Bay of Bengal. Commerce between China and India, and then later to the Suez canal, had to come through this area.  Singapore was controlled by the British for a time but was captured and brutalized by the Japanese during WWII. After a post-war effort to join greater Malaysia failed, Singapore became independent, and then started on an absolutely stunning transformation.  At first, the population of Singapore was incredibly poor, and many of them were addicted to opium. Lee Kuan Yew became prime minister in 1959 and led the country to become one of the richest, most advanced, most educated countries in the world.  But it's a weird mix of capitalism and dictatorship. It's a lovely place, but not "free" by western standards.  L

P&C drink and review Cold Snap White Ale from Sam Adams, then discuss their trip to the Maryland Live Casino.  Although P&C generally frown on gambling, they wanted to see what a casino is really like. So they went to see for themselves on the weekend of the NFL division championships.  Unlike the casinos in Vegas, which are beatiful, with stunning art and fancy displays, and lots of entertainment close by, the Maryland Live Casino was just gaudy, noisy, and flashy.  This was not a casino James Bond would visit. Not classy. Not elegant.  These high-rollers each bet the stunning sum of $20. 

P&C drink and review a homebrewed stout, and along with special guest John Wayne Jew discuss how diversity, equity, and inclusion don't mean what you think they mean, or what they should mean.  They start with an effort to find the good things in DEI. But they don't get very far.  DEI is a social and moral catastrophe. It hides behind words that sound virtuous and pleasant, but it twists and distorts those words into something unrecognizable.  "Diversity" only applies to a very narrow range of issues: race, sex, and who you fancy. There's no effort to have diversity of opinion, of religious views, or personality traits, or any of the thousands of ways that humans can be distinguished.  "Equity" is a classic bait and switch. Americans all believe in equality of opportunity, but equity means equality of outcome, which is a horrible mess. "Equity" justifies letting people out of jail because of their race, irrespective of whether they're guilty.  There's something similar with "inclu

P&C drink and review Cream Team, a cookies and cream milk stout, then discuss "advances" in reproductive technology.  Ectolife is working on creating an artificial womb, where babies can be grown in a production facility. There's been some success with mice, and they want to extend the tech to humans.  The goal is to alleviate some of the pain and risk inherent in childbirth, and to help couples who are unable to reproduce naturally.  It would eliminate premature births, miscarriage, c-sections, and all sorts of complications in pregnancy. The system would also report on genetic abnormalities, and possibly allow doctors to correct them -- or even correct inherited diseases.  It can go even further. You might be able to choose some of your baby's characteristics, like eye and hair color, strength, intelligence, height, etc.  But there are criticisms.  If babies are so easily created, will they be less valued?  There's also no real connection between the mother and child.&

The boys drink and review Crowhill's Henry IV homebrew, then discuss possible causes of the recent uptick in gender confusion.  Just recently -- all of a sudden -- we're getting an epidemic of people with gender dysphoria. Why? What's causing this?  We're told that the only possible explanation is that this has always been true -- that sex is not binary -- but that truth has been suppressed by the patriarchal tyranny.  P&C think there are lots of other possibilities, including ...  1. Microplastics.  2. Environmental toxins that are interfering with reproduction / sexual systems.  3. This is nature's way of responding to overpopulation.  4. Loss of fathers.  5. Liberal social policies in the schools.  6. Decline of religion.  7. Mass hysteria / social contagion.  8. Social media, narcissism and attention-seeking.  9. Feminism.  10. Mixing the sexes in more and more social settings. 11. Trans is the new punk. It's all about rebellion.  1

The boys drink and review a chai latte stout from Schlafly, then discuss out of dates ads.  You've probably seen the headlines. The basic concept is "ads that are not acceptable today." But why are they unacceptable?  In some cases, the old ad is playful, and we're too uptight to go along with the joke.  In other cases, there were cultural assumptions in the past, or a different understanding of the science, that don't apply today. Does that make them offensive?  Some of the ads are just plain creepy, but in some cases, the very act of finding something wrong with the ad seems to implicate the critic, not the ad.  Overall, maybe we just get offended too easily these days. 

The boys drink and review Stone's Delicious Double IPA, then discuss rights.  What is a right? We hear it all the time, but when do we stop to think about it, what does it really mean?  Do rights depend on someone granting us a right, or do we have rights by nature?  The idea of natural law goes back to the Greeks, and has a long history in the west. But what is it based on?  In the Christian world, the natural law was received as a body of unwritten rules depending upon universal conscience and common sense, ascertainable by right reason. How does natural law relate to legal rights?  John Locke promoted the idea of Life, Liberty, and Property. How does that work with "cultural relativism," or the idea that we get our rights from the government?  The Declaration of Independence asserts we have rights from our Creator. Do rights depend on God?  And what about enumerated vs. unenumerated rights. 

The boys drink and review Delicious IPA from Stone, then discuss skills they wish they had learned.  Everybody has to make choices about how they spend their time, and some skills require a lot of work to acquire. Pigweed and Crowhill talk about things they wish they could do, but have never applied themselves to.  Things like ...  Being handy, or a gearhead,  Whistling well,  Getting comfortable with the Celsius scale,  Learning the metric system,  Budgeting,  Tying lots of cool knots,  Learning other languages,  Dancing,  Playing the guitar, or the piano,  Charming fabulous women,  Swordfighting,  and other fun stuff.  The real question is, if they really wanted to learn these skills, why didn't they? 

The boys drink and review Kostritzer Schwarzbier, then discuss homelessness.  When we talk about "the homeless," we have to make some distinctions. Some people with no home have a job, a car, and are making do ... they just don't have a place to live. They live in their car and shower at the gym.  Others are drug addicts or have mental illnesses. It's a mistake to lump them all into the "homeless" category.  Homelessness is closely associated with drugs, mental health issues, street camping, open drug use, and the legalization of property crime.  There are different philosophies on how to address this. One is called "housing first." Another is "treatment first." Many policies are based on permissiveness and perpetuation of the drug-addled life on the street.  Good policies require people to have skin in the game and demonstrate responsibility. Accommodating drug addiction and facilitating a vagrant lifestyle is sold as compassion, but it's not the solution. 

The boys drink and review Erdinger's Weissbier Dunkel, then discuss developments in artificial intelligence.  Our first experiences with artificial intelligence were things like "playing the computer" on the Atari, or spellchecker. Checking grammar involved an extra layer of computation that had to take context into account.  Another level of computer-assisted information is what you see on Amazon -- "customers who bought this also bought..." -- or on Spotify -- "people who likes this song also liked ...."  How will AI affect sports? Do we want computers calling balls and strikes? Do we want first downs and fumbles determined by artificial intelligence?  Just recently, the tech geniuses have developed AI engines that can write books and provide illustrations.  How long before AI is writing screenplays and creating computer-generated characters to act out the script? When will we have AI judges in the courts? 

The boys drink and review Pigweed's latest robust porter, then welcome John Wayne Jew to the show to help review "this month in woke."  We're seeing university struggle sessions where if any of the students disagree with a teacher's liberal agenda, the student has to issue a written apology and submit himself to lectures from the teacher and other students.  Teachers can be jailed for failing to use a student's preferred pronouns.  In Virginia, the schools slow-walked informing students they were national merit scholars because it wouldn't be "equitable" to give the smart kids a leg up.  With control of the government, the schools, scientific establishments, the media, Madison Avenue, and Hollywood, the left is often pushing the boundaries of crazy, and mostly getting away with it -- with ridiculous results.   Every day there's another story about lunacies on the left. If you're not getting enough sleep, you may be a victim of racism.  The woke Biden administration is going to dr

With special guest Longinus (a vegetarian), the boys drink and review a small beer, following a recipe from George Washington, then discuss vegetarianism.  Sometimes vegetarianism is inspired by religious beliefs, and sometimes by secular ethics and questions of health. There are also issues about environmental issues and sustainability.  There are different types or levels of vegetarianism, including veganism, lacto and ovo vegetarianism, pescetarianism, raw vegans, etc.  Some claim that vegetarianism is more healthy and better for the planet.  Pigweed asks how vegetarianism squares with the history of our species. Cooking and eating meat was a huge step in our evolution and facilitated the development of our large brains.  And what about eating bugs? The geniuses at Davos seem to want us to do that.  Crowhill believes the future of meat eating is lab-grown meat, and that once we perfect that, vegetarianism will be irrelevant. 

Along with special guest Longinus, the boys drink and review Beam Me up, Stouty (a coconut stout) from Saugatuck Brewing, then discuss "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich."  The story is not about an escape, or an unusual day, or how something dramatic happened on this day. It's just a typical day in a Soviet labor camp.  Solzhenitsyn's account of this one day so captured the experience of the Soviet prisoner camps that he received letters from former prisoners expressing how perfectly he had captured the experience.  The characters themselves are not particularly wicked. You don't come away hating the characters in the story, but the system. It's all about ordinary, decent people caught up in a wicked system.  It's a cold story. You might want to bundle up as you read it. 

The boys drink and review Chimay Grand Reserve, then discuss the big stories of 2022.  Top stories included:  * Republicans take the House  * Musk buys Twitter * The World Cup  * Pro-democracy protests in Iran  * Hurricanes Sophia and Ian  * Queen Elizabeth passes  * Boris Johnson resigns  * Liz Trust's short term  * Mar-a-lago  * Jan. 6 hearings  * Roe v. Wade  * The media lies about abortion  * Uvalde Texas shooting  * Monkeypox  * Jonny Depp / Amber Heard  * High Inflation * Russia invades Ukraine  * 2022 Winter Olympics  * First successful heart transplant from a pig to a human  * James Webb space telescope enters orbit  * Will Smith slap  * Pandemic is over * Cryptocurrency problems  * Bad stock market  * President Chi increases grip on power  * ESG backlash  * Fusion energy breakthroughs  * Brazil goes left  * China conducted first military exercises around Taiwan 

The boys drink and review Glacial Drift, a spiced winter ale from Heavy Seas, then discuss housing, and why the prices are so high.  What factors have caused home prices to go so high? And how do regular families afford these McMansions? It seems the ratio of income to house prices has changed radically since the 1970s.  Part of it is the assumption of two incomes in each family.  Also, we have bigger houses with fewer people in them. Houses get bigger while families get smaller.  If you track the change in wages vs. the price of homes, inflation-adjusted wages have stayed about the same since the 1960, but houses are twice as expensive.  Are government regulations causing the increase in home prices? Or is it some other factor?