Book Review/Podcast 162: Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Go to www.joesnotesblog.com for full show notes and links! 

In lieu of a standard book review, I decided to post my conversation with Channing on our podcast, The Fleeting Thoughts Podcast, about the book. Check it out on your favorite podcast app or on Youtube! 

https://fleetingthoughts.libsyn.com/episode-162-tender-is-the-flesh-and-cannibalism

Direct Download: 

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/fleetingthoughts/FTP_Podcast_162__final_audio_small.mp3

Youtube:

My Favorite Podcasts of 2020 (So Far)

Here are my favorite podcasts that I’m listening to now and I found this year! What are your favorite podcasts?

The Neighborhood Listen

Genre: Comedy/Improv

Hosted By: Paul F. Tompkins and Nicole Parker

How did this get made?

Genre: Comedy/Shade

Hosted by Paul Sheer, Jason Mantzoukas, June Diane Raphael

Strong Songs

Genre: Music Analysis

Hosted by Kirk Hamilton

More podcasts to check out:

My Favorite Podcasts of 2019

https://joesnotesblog.com/blog/my-favorite-podcasts-of-2019?rq=podcast

My Podcast is here:

https://joesnotesblog.com/podcast

My Favorite Podcasts of 2019

Click here to get more!

Click on links to check out these great podcasts!

Let me know what your favorite podcasts are on facebook!

Sean Carol's Mindscape Podcast (Still one of my favorites!)

Superego (New Episodes Up)

Doug Loves Movies (Doug Benson)

Joe Rogan Experience Podcast (Pick and Choose)

Philosophize This with Stephen West

Favorite new podcast! (New to me)

Timesuck with Dan Cummings

My Favorite New Podcast of 2018

Click here to join my mailing list and stay up to date!

https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/

Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast was launched in July of 2018 and it is my favorite new podcast of this year. I tend to enjoy two types of podcasts; educational, focusing on philosophy, science and culture and comedic. I have been listening to a variety of podcasts including The Joe Rogan Experience, Doug Loves Movies and Waking Up with Sam Harris and I am always looking out for the next great podcast. There are a lot out there but finding one that matches my interests, has an engaging host and is not overproduced can be difficult but Sean Carroll's podcast ticks off all the boxes.

I don't remember the first time I listened to Sean Carroll but I remember being immediately impressed by his intellect, calm rationality, and ability to speak about complex topics in a way that was accessible and engaging. Sean is a theoretical physicist and is very knowledgeable about topics such as cosmology and quantum physics but I have been more interested in his views on philosophical topics such as consciousness, morality, and the nature of reality. I rarely become excited when I find out that someone has a podcast but when I heard that Sean Carroll was starting one I couldn't wait.

With guest's like Carlo Rovelli talking about quantum mechanics, Megan Rosenbloom on the death positive movement, and, more recently, Lisa Aziz-Zadeh discussing embodied cognition the Mindscape podcast offers a wide spectrum of ideas delivered by very smart people that I would have never heard about otherwise. We all get to benefit from Sean's curiosity relating to the current state of science, philosophy, and culture and with his talent of explaining things in simplified and more accessible ways, we do not have to drown in industry-specific terminology and indiscernible abstract concepts, although I will admit that I do not grasp everything discussed. He reminds me of Richard Dawkins in that he is a great ambassador for scientific knowledge and rationality.

I appreciate that Sean does not talk down to the audience or to his guests and I really appreciate his demeanor. He speaks calmly without being monotone or boring. You can tell that he is genuinely excited about the topics at hand and that he is really listening to his guests speak. There are many scientific intellectuals but it is a rare gift to be able to speak about science in a way that is understandable and engaging and Sean does this exceptionally well. I think that it is important to continue to expand my own understanding of the universe and I am glad that I have found a source that packs so much of what I love into one place.

If you are curious about the world, appreciate intelligent conversations, and want to expand your mind I recommend that you check out Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast. Also, its free so there's no good reason not to.

Click here: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/

or look for it on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Youtube, Stitcher and most any place you can listen to media. 

New Blog Website

Recently I created a website for this blog so if you are interested in getting a little bit more from me go to joesnotesblog.com. I am a bit more strict about what I post there as Blogger has always been a place where I put all my thoughts, the website is a more formal place where I want to put the most polished pieces. You can also find more photos and a link to my ebooks on Amazon. I took selections of my blog over the years and put them into two ebooks. The first one is about self-development and my life stories and the second one is about culture, politics, and other philosophical topics.

I will continue to post everything on Blogger but the website will be a place where I can do a little bit more to express myself and show off the blog in a more customized way. Thank you for reading the blog on either site and subscribe on Blogger to get updates when I post new content. Check out the website for more information about myself and to check out my podcast The Fleeting Thoughts Podcast.

Bro Virtue Signalling

"Bro Virtue Signalling, or BVS, is when someone who is super cool also espouses virtues in a cool way. It is important that the signal is not preachy or trying to actually make someone feel worthless. It has to be empowering being perceived as being a "big deal". 

I thought of this while listening to The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast and the Your Mom's House podcast. In both of these podcasts the comedians that host them make fun of each other in the direction of persuading them of the value of good health. The fat shaming event that Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura engaged in earlier this year went viral and became a huge story. What's interesting is that the entire campaign was centered around a bet between the two out of shape comedians to lose weight. Whomever got the lower BMI rating would win and while the contest went on people from all over the world got in on the jokes and jeering. 

This kind of subtle promotion of the virtue of healthier living with the use of crude and "bro" humor is one of the reasons why these comedians and podcasts are so popular. They are not devoid of ethics. They simply hide their virtue signals among vulgar language and sometimes brutal masculine japery. It speaks to the complicated nature of communication and friendship. Friends, especially males, do not always come straight out and say, "I care about you and I think your weight it is unhealthy," but instead say the same thing by saying, "I bet you can't run a mile, because your so fat." It's blunt and to those listening may come off as rude but it's bite is in proportion to the care the one has for the other. 

Another example of this can be seen in the crowning of champions for various activities on the Your Mom's House Podcast between the two hosts Christina Pazsitzky and Tom Segura (husband and wife). In between the fart jokes and insane YouTube clips the two comedians throw in little virtue signals that promote a healthier lifestyle without being preachy. They have a running joke that one of them is the "water champion" and while no one is a clear winner the real goal of the competition is to promote the healthy behavior of drinking more water. Considering the two just had their first child I think that this is another example of how adults can mature while remaining true to themselves.

I highly recommend you check out these podcasts:

http://www.yourmomshousepodcast.com/

http://podcasts.joerogan.net/

My Thoughts on Sam Harris and Jordan B. Peterson's conversation on "Truth"

01/24/2017 at 12 am

Today I worked from 12:45 to 5pm at the retail job. I am becoming more comfortable there  with answering phones, getting items out of the back, helping customers with odd requests and things like that. After work I came home to my brother talking about a podcast where Sam Harris and Jordan B. Peterson have a 2 hour discussion about the meaning and application of the word truth. Sam believes that there are scientific facts that we call truths and Jordan believes that no matter the truth claim it must be put into a moral framework where it isn't "absolutely" true but merely "proximally" true. They go back and forth and I recommend listening to the entire thing if you like epistemology or semantics or you enjoy somewhat tedious philosophical conversations in general. You can watch the Youtube of it here.

My brother and I talked about what the word "true" means and how it isn't as simple as one might think. There are facts but facts can be overturned and what are the use of facts without a moral framework to guide where we search for and what we "should" do with facts. Is there an ultimate "truth" and if so how do we recognize it when we see it or can it truly be known at all? Jordan seemed to want to reserve the use of the word "truth" only for instances that can be argued that the consequence of that truth is beneficial to humans in a Darwinian or Pragmatic fashion. Sam seemed to be arguing that for the sake of conversation one has to grant a certain amount of "truth" to statements based on their scientific validity and accuracy and that it isn't necessary to look at every truth claim as a representation of a greater truth that can only be revealed by examination of the outcome toward humans. 

For example: 2 + 2 = 4. That is either true or false (or unknown) but it doesn't seem to require an examination of higher moral truths to accept and even if humans did not exist wouldn't this be true? Maybe not. Maybe it is impossible to examine any statement without presupposing that a human is involved in some stage of its conceptualization, from thinking it to communicating about it and so on.

For example: The dog is blue. This statement is either true or false (or unknown) and it does not contain any moral content at all. It isn't good or bad that the dog is or isn't blue. So if the dog is blue then a rational person should accept the statement "The dog is blue" is simply true. 

For example: It is immoral to steal. This is a moral statement and I think it is either true or false (or unknown) based on the moral framework that one uses to asses its validity. I think Sam would argue that there is a way to do this scientifically but I think he would also say that there may be holes in the scientific explanation that need to be filled in with reason, logic, and philosophy. He might also add that some subjective or "spiritual" considerations might be made in order to understand the statement's validity. What I gather from the podcast is that Jordan B. Peterson would say that the statement is either true or false based on whether or not it leads to an outcome that suits the survive-ability of the individual and the species. He might also say that this statement is void of context and therefore it is unrealistic to take it seriously as a case worth discussing. He might ask, "Who stole, why did they steal," or "what lead to them stealing" and such questions in order to assess the underlying truth of the statement and I don't think he is wrong to ask those questions. 

I think Jordan is right in not capitulating to Sam when Sam brings up thought experiments that require a lot of presuppositions and I think real world examples would probably have been more useful here but I also think Jordan knows what Sam means when Sam explains what he means by "true" in a scientific or fact based way. I also think that Jordan came into the conversation with a desire to explain his underlying basis for morality and to disabuse Sam of his "materialist" metaphysics but in getting bogged down in the analysis of one term (Truth) he was not able to fully express his arguments against materialism and the limitations of science. Especially the limitations of science to illuminate moral truths. 

I think that the word "truth" can have a few different meanings and sometimes, for the sake of conversation, we accept one meaning in order to both further the conversation and because the meaning behind the word is known by both parties. When Sam talks about smallpox he is talking about the scientific truth relating to biological facts but when Jordan hears Sam talk about smallpox he questions the truth that underlies why smallpox is being studied. Some of the confusion in the conversation, from my perspective, is the lack of consistency when Jordan agrees that some things are true but also claims that those truths may not "really" be true when one looks at the bigger picture. A picture that one may never have the opportunity to see. 

I think that they both are very intelligent and that the term they discussed for so long is actually a fairly complicated concept. I think that it would have been interesting to have them move onto another topic and see what happens when the word "true" comes up or they might have agreed to try not using the term until they can agree on it's proper use for the purpose of their current conversation. Then they would have been forced to use other terms like "scientific fact" or "empirical fact" or "evil" instead of using true. No matter what they end up talking about I hope they talk more and put it out to the world for me to listen to. I hope it starts good conversations and leads to even better arguments. 

These are not all my thoughts but they certainly are some of them. 

I will decide soon

01/18/2017 at 12 am

Today was like other days. I awoke refreshed and alive, ready to take on the world. I ate some yogurt and found out that my morning energy laced juice beverage tasted funky so I threw that shit away. I conversed with the brother about business and what not and then got ready for work at the retail spot. It was very slow and I ran around helping people and working register and at one point the boss offered me a promotion. Better pay and more hours but the benefits might be the main reason to take it. I will decide soon.

I got picked up by my brother around 7 and when I got home I ate some home made chili and cornbread and we prepared to record a special edition of the Fractal Focus Podcast where we picked out top 7 reasons why businesses need video. It was a fun and educational episode full of stats plucked from websites to help inform businesses of the need for video that we could do for them.

Then we watched some "Dexter" and then I watched the last episode of "Comedy Bang Bang". Now I'm checking out the Netflix stand up special "3 Mics" by Neal Brennan but I don't think I will finish it. I might just go to bed at the end of this sentence.

Podcast Startup Guide

If you're interested in sharing your ideas with the world podcasting is a great way to reach a huge audience without spending a lot of money. Podcasts are like the YouTube of radio and from politics to comedy there is something for everyone and it's free! Just like YouTube many podcasters have made a living reaching out to the world with their unique perspectives. If your interested in creating a high quality podcast here is a quick guide to getting started.

The easiest way:

1. Find a microphone that works with your computer or use your phone's recorder.

2. Download the Audacity or Reaper audio editing program for free. 

3. Record directly into the program or upload the file from your phone and edit to desired production value. 

4. Create a libsyn.com account, create a show and put content online.

5. Connect the RSS feed to iTunes to increase audience potential. 

6. Your done!

This way is cheaper but limited and if your computer shuts off or crashes you'll lose your content. 

A better way:

1. Pick up the Zoom H4N digital audio recorder. (Portable!)

2. Get one or more high quality cardioid microphones. I recommend the Senheiser E385 dynamic microphone. The H4N supports 2 XLR cables but with a splitter you can increase as needed. Or go with the H6N which supports 4 XLR inputs.

3. Get an XLR cable for each microphone needed. (Comes with some microphone bundles)

4. Get an SD card. Audio doesn't take up a lot of memory but the bigger the better. Speed isn't an issue if it is a newer SD card.

5. Plug everything in and record your podcast. The H4N has a lot of settings and acts as a limited mixer. WAV is higher quality than MP3 but takes up more space. You can split the left and right channels to have more options in post production. For more on settings and using the H4N I will post a separate blog. Check it out here: H4N Settings

6. Upload your audio file from your H4N to your computer for editing.

7. Edit using the free programs listed above. You don't have to go too in depth with this but having some kind of intro and outro increases production value. Go as simple or as elaborate as you want and remember to have fun. The more entertaining your podcast is the more people will continue to listen and recommend it to others.

8. Create a libsyn.com account, create a show and set up your show information under the Settings tab. 

9. Next, set up the Libsyn Classic Feed info under the Destinations Tab before you link it to iTunes. iTunes has a few specific requirements but it should be straight forward. Just make sure to have a picture that is the right size. That tripped me up when I got started. 

10. Upload your edited file using the Add New Episode button under the Content tab on Libsyn. If your having issues with storage go to Settings tab and check your Billing options. 

11. Connect the rss feed to iTunes under the Podcast tab in iTunes with the Submit a Podcast button. It takes a while for iTunes to accept the podcast but that will allow the RSS feed to be shared with millions of people around the world.
12. Your done! 

Podcasting is fun and inexpensive way to express yourself by sharing your unique perspective to the world. Thans for reading and if you have any questions about podcasting contact me here:

Twitter: @JoeGrins

Facebook: Joe Gray

Links:
My Podcasting Setup Youtube Supplement

Buying Guide

H4N Settings

My Podcasts:

Fleeting Thoughts Podcast

Fractal Focus Podcast

Podcasting Guide: H4N Settings

These are the current H4N settings I use to have maximum quality and control in post production. I have changed settings here and there over time but this works great for me right now. Feel free to experiment and find what works for you. Any settings not listed below are not changed.

1. Input Settings
- Lo Cut = All Off
- Comp/Limit = All Off
- Monitor = On (This allows you to monitor with a headset before hitting the record button)
- 1/2 Link = Off (This allows you to adjust mic strength for each channel independently)
- Level Auto = Off (I recommend not allowing the H4N to control the mic input strength because it may do it mid episode and audio levels will not be consistent)
- Mono Mix = Off (This setting allows you to separate channels in post for more precise editing)
- MS Matrix = NA
- Phantom = Off (If your mic requires phantom power turn this on)
- Plug-In = Off

2. Record Settings
- Rec Format = WAV44.1kHz/16Bit (This creates a WAV file which is higher quality than MP3 but it takes up more storage. If you want to save space consider the MP3 formats but keep in mind the lower the quality recording the worse it can sound after post production)
- Auto Rec = Off
- Pre Rec = Off
- File Name = Default

3. Mode Select = Stereo

Other notes:

4. Power = I like using the AC Adapter when doing important recordings because I would hate to run out of battery and lose anything. I leave AA's in the H4N for backup but I change them out if they run low. If you leave the system with no power it will reset the Date/Time to default making it hard to manage files.

5. If your using XLR cables make sure to select the correct input on the face of the H4N or it will default to the internal mic. It should highlight the 1 and 2 buttons on the left side of the face. The internal mic works very well but will pick up more sounds from the environment than a Dynamic microphone.


Links:

My H4N Settings YouTube Supplement

My Podcasting Setup YouTube Supplement

Startup Guide

Buying Guide

My Podcasts:

Fleeting Thoughts Podcast

Fractal Focus Podcast

Podcasting Startup Buying Guide

Here is a look at the equipment I use and links to where to get them:

1. Zoom H4N (Newer Version available as well)
https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H4N-Digital-Multitrack-Recorder/dp/B00UK7G3UO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1479246282&sr=8-4&keywords=h4n











2. Senheiser E385
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Dynamic-Cardioid-Vocal-Microphone/dp/B00006I5R7













3. XLR Cables
https://www.amazon.com/CBI-MLC20-Microphone-Cable-Foot/dp/B000VJJQUU/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1479246630&sr=1-3&keywords=xlr

4. SD Card
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WQKOQM/ref=twister_B009RUZ7TS?_encoding=UTF8&th=1










5. Download a free audio editing program such as:

Don't forget this file:

• LAME MP3 encoder – Allows Audacity to export MP3 files. 
• Lame for Reaper - Allows Reaper to export MP3 files. 

6. A computer.

That's it!
With this equipment you will be able to produce high quality audio for your podcast.

Check out my Startup Guide Here:

Podcast Startup Guide

Contact me here:
Twitter: @JoeGrins

Facebook: Joe Gray

My Podcasts:

Fleeting Thoughts Podcast

Fractal Focus Podcast