Bad Philosophy

Since the dawn of computer networks, there have been those who push past the permissions, the boundaries, and the firewalls to penetrate deep within the forbidden corners of cyberspace. Recently, a group of these hackers calling themselves LulzSec has taken it upon themselves to bring some highly public meme-infused humor back into this practice. They’ve hacked Sony, PBS, the FBI, and most recently Bethesda, releasing internal server information, network maps, and many thousands of usernames, email addresses, and passwords in the name of exposing these companies’ poor security. But should we praise or prosecute these pirates of the pr0ntubes? Kevin and I tackle this and other cyber-morality questions in our latest episode. So grab your top hat and set sail for fail, it’s BF time!

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “Secrets from the Future” by MC Frontalot

Questions Answers in This Week’s Formsqueeze:

Governmental Artificial Intelligences

Theatre Alert! Trey Parker and Matt Stone (of South Park infamy) recently launched a Broadway musical that’s getting the exact opposite flavor of attention their work usually garners. Praise is sweeping across the play from all directions. However, we love our dirt here at BF, so in this episode we explored the ‘dark’ side of this happy-go-lucky romp into postcolonial issues. Here to explore this subject with us IN PERSON were BF mainstay Kevin Saunders and newly minted doctoral student Amy Guenther. So put on your best proselytizing tie and come with us through the war-torn race issues of Uganda all the way to the war-torn race issues of Baltimore and back again.

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “Way Down in the Hole” by The Neville Brothers

Questions Answered in this Week’s Formsqueeze:

Latin American Countries, Explaining Sound

So in case you hadn’t heard, a few weeks ago we shot some guy in the eye and dumped him in the ocean, then cheered exuberantly about it for a few days. With this hefty moral conundrum we began our first ever all-Formsqueeze episode, answering a slew of YOUR questions from our Formspring account.We covered everything from Bin Laden to root beer, episode transcription to Oreo cookie innovations, and sci-fi TV to overindulgent restaurants. Yes, we’ve got answers GALORE, and we hope you enjoy them. After all that answering we could use a re-up though, so hit up that little white box on the right and submit your question(s) today!

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “Blowin’ in the Wind” (Punk Cover) by Me First and Gimme Gimmes

At any given moment thousands of people around the world are praying (and since it’s Easter today you can probably tack a few more zeroes onto that estimate). Whether it’s praying for the destruction of sinful local businesses or just a little tsunami from God to show the world He’s still awake at the control board, people pray for stuff constantly. But there are a few philosophical problems with this practice, beyond the fact that it feels really, really good for some reason. Here to take us through these conundrums are the venerable Dr. Mark Webb from good ol’ Texas Tech University, alongside the indomitable Kiki Canon. Careful what you pray for! Have a listen…

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “Gambler’s Prayer” by Jonathan Coulton

Do you like money? Sure! Have you ever asked yourself why money is valuable? Maybe. Perhaps you’ve even asked yourself how you could make money better. Well, a few years ago a guy named Satoshi Nakamoto did that and more. He invented Bitcoin, the peer-to-peer digital currency that’s taking the Interwebs by storm. Here to discuss the economics and philosophy of value surrounding this revolutionary concept were BF regulars (or irregulars?) Kevin Saunders and Kiki Canon. We were also blessed to have Washington D.C. native and contact improvisation dancer Darrell Duane of BitcoinBonus and BitcoinCambio as our very special guest. So hop in the back seat, set your miners to Generate and come join us on a journey through cyberpunk economics, cryptographic currency, and squeeze-tastic sexual pairings. We so excited to have you along for the ride!

BONUS: Donate to BF using Bitcoin! Direct your donations to 14Lua9coLL5pEDfyMmeU8dRPT5uQSBTTs9

This Week’s Post-Show Song Pimpage: “Friday by Rebecca Black” Cover by Matt Mulholland

In case you haven’t heard, Charlie Sheen has been #WINNING lately. Or so he claims, at least. For some people, “winning” is banging 7-gram rocks with porn stars in a hotel room. For others, it’s resurrecting an ancient brand with crazy new products through the power of pop music. For us on BF, it’s getting to talk about all of this while eating copious numbers of jelly babies. Kiki, Simon, and Kevin join me this episode to live the Sheen dream. So strap into your F-18, set your gear to GO, and prepare to get your face melted off… it’s BF time!

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “Songify This / Winning” by The Gregory Brothers

Imagine yourself stuck in a mine. It’s just you and two other people, and the food runs out. One of the others pulls you aside and suggests the unthinkable. You’re mortified… but that third survivor’s thighs look as tasty as a 50-piece Nugget Meal from McDonald’s. What do you do? The prospect of cannibalism continues to fascinate humanity, and we here at BF are no exception. This episode Kiki, Kevin, and I dive deep into this forbidden dish and explore our boundaries on the issue. Where a couple of us draw the line may surprise you! So put on your best chain mail, grab some tasty insect munchies, and bring down that bottle of your best BBQ sauce, it’s time for BF…

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “Timothy” by The Buoys

Ever get the feeling that society is holding you back? Like a ball and chain are just wrapped around your ankles, and if you could only break free and be your own person, the world would miraculously become your sandbox? Well according to Ayn Rand, that ball and chain are nothing more than your own inhibitions. Success is there for the taking! Oh, but just remember to bring a plow.

This week on BF we tackle quite possibly the most controversial piece of philosophical literature ever to spend 50 years in development hell before they finally made a crappy movie out of it: Atlas Shrugged. Joining me to bite into this tasty morsel were recent Rand reader Jed Cummins and reliable Rand resister Kiki Canon. Ready for some self-interested Objectivismania? Well get on board!

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “The Trees” by Rush (suggested by @treycaliva)

President Obama’s State of the Union address? Meh. Practicing all your life one of two classical instruments because your mother says so? Snore. Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes? F***ING AWESOME. Okay, so we couldn’t exactly hit the mediocrity hat trick. BUT on a week when Internets were down in Egypt and Chicago, sickness spread across the nation, and broom closets became our only refuge, we still managed to pull together a whopper of an episode for you peeps. Enjoy it while sitting by a warm fire, sipping some hot cocoa as you await your inevitable frozen fate this fine winter…

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: Jascha Heifetz plays Ibert “Le Petit Âne Blanc”

Imagine if falling in love was as easy as taking a pill. Scary? Exciting? Kind of rad? Well, to make up for the distinct lack of anything resembling actual philosophy last week, we decided to delve straight into this and other hardcore questions, courtesy of George Saunders and his recent short story in The New Yorker. Don’t let the sub-par audio or the happy-go-lucky children chuckling in the background of Panera Bread fool you. We got REAL SERIOUS AND STUFF. You can tell by the caps lock. Drip on? Hell yeah!

This Week’s Post-show Song Pimpage: “I Feel Fantastic” by Jonathan Coulton