Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill

Latest Episodes:

320: Fabulous Fallacies. Things you know that aren't so. Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

P&C drink and review "Level Up," an IPA from a Yard's variety pack, then discuss things "everybody knows" that aren't so.

You might be surprised at some of the answers. Here are the topics discussed.

Who was the first president of the United States?
Everybody thought the earth was flat before Columbus.
How did "Caesarean section" get its name?
Who was the youngest U.S. president?
Was Cleopatra Egyptian?
Was St. Patrick an Irishman?
Did Atlas hold the world on his shoulders?
Did Paul Revere warn the colonists the British were coming?
Did Lincoln free the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation?
Where was the battle of Bunker Hill?
What is the Immaculate Conception?
Did Ben Franklin invent the Franklin stove?
Are Arabic numerals Arabic?
What is a bellwether?
Did Marie Antoinette say "let them eat cake"?
Can castrated men get it on?
Why do you only eat oysters in a month with an r?
Who is the Baby Ruth candy bar named after?
Why do bulls hate the color red?
What is cat gut?
Do porcupines shoot their spines?

319: Was Jan 6 "the darkest day in history"? Apr 15, 2023

Show notes

P&C drink and review Double Nickel Session IPA, then discuss January 6 and all the hyperventilating about it.

The over-hyping of the events of January 6 turned Pigweed and Crowhill away from the story. When everyone over-reacts, we under-react.

Now that there's some distance and the rhetoric has died down a bit, maybe there's some ability to evaluate it calmly.

First, Trump was absolutely wrong in his belief that Pence had the authority to not certify the election results. Unfortunately, some people believed it.

Second, there have been some persistent lies about that day, such as the claim that six police officers died. That's not true.

The lies and exaggerations were quite over the top. Calling the event an "armed insurrection" is absurd. If Jan. 6 was an insurrection, it was the lamest, stupidest insurrection that's ever been attempted. Calling it an attempt to overturn democracy, or destroy the Constitution, is such breathless, mindless stupidity that it beggars the imagination.

The actual threat to democracy from Jan. 6 is the abuse we've seen of the justice system: the overly harsh treatment of Jan. 6 protesters, and the fact that exculpatory evidence was withheld from defense attorneys.

The ongoing lies about January 6 are completely outrageous. Pigweed and Crowhill try to parse through it all and present a balanced perspective.

They also discuss recent "insurrections," where Democrats have stormed state legislatures.

318: Religious Revivals Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

The boys drink and review Bakalar, a Czech dark lager, then discuss the history of religious revivals in the United States, and their effects.

They discuss what makes something a religious revival -- what are its signs and effects. What elements are essential and what are accidental?

They review several of the great religious revivals in U.S. history, and mention some of their leading figures.

Also, what causes a revival? What sorts of cultural situations tend to precede revivals? Do they come in a predictable rhythm? Do they always involve a fixation on the end of the world?

There's also an interesting question of the different talents required for the revival and the people who come afterwards, who need to create lasting institutions.

Crowhill believes a religious revival is the only hope for the United States.

317: Crucifixion Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

P&C drink and review a dry-hopped pilsner from Nepenthe, then discuss crucifixion.

Crucifixion didn't start with the Romans, and wasn't limited to them. The Romans learned it from the Persians, the Carthaginians and the Macedonians. But the Romans "perfected" and systematized it.

Crucifixion was reserved for crimes against the state: rebellion, treason, and religious dissent.

Modern research suggests that there wasn't a single way to crucify someone. Arms might have been nailed to the cross, or sometimes just tied with ropes. The feet may not have been nailed together, but sometimes nailed separately on different sides of the cross.

The torturers had some liberty to improvise.

The Romans used crucifixion to warn the population not to dare to mess with Rome.

After a general review of crufixion, the boys speak briefly about the crucifixion of Christ.

316: Destination weddings, and large people on planes Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

The boys drink and review Dark and Righteous, from Jailbreak brewing, then discuss their recent experiences with destination weddings.

P&C both attended Roman Catholic weddings -- Crowhill was the father of the bride at a wedding in Nashville, and Pigweed was at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, near Puerto Vallarta.

The boys discuss similarities and differences in their experiences at the weddings, as well as travel, accommodations, and entertainment. They reflect on the whole package -- what they liked and what they didn't.

On the way home, Pigweed had the unfortunate experience of sitting next to someone who didn't fit in the airplane chair. P&C spend some time discussing this frequent problem, and how airlines ought to deal with it.

314: What is Latinx? plus relaxing on vacation Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

The boys drink and review Lagunitas's Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale, then discuss the new word Latinx, and vacations.

Our language overlords have insisted that Latino and Latina are inappropriate in our new woke universe, so they imposed a monstrosity: Latinx -- which makes no sense.

Spanish is a gendered language, but white woke people in America figured they had to fix that, because those stupid Latinos didn't know what to do with their own language.

Pigweed takes a woke, revisionist Spanish document with him to Mexico to ask some actual Latinos what they think of this Latinx business. They didn't like it, and stats bear that out. Latinos don't like it.

What happened to the left's rejection of cultural imperialism?

Pigweed and Crowhill also attended destination weddings, and discuss vacations in general, and their experiences.

313 A Covid retrospective -- what did the govt. get right? Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

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't that a little scary?

315: All the best women are men Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

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.

312: Lent and beer fasting Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

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.

311: Tolkien's Leaf by Niggle and Farmer Giles of Ham Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

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, and light, silly writing.

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